Objectives : Approximately 30% of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia suffer from treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is underutilized in the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia. To understand contributing factors, we analyzed the time course and causes of clozapine discontinuations that occurred over a 20-year period in a clinical setting. Methods : The reasons for discontinuation and duration of clozapine treatment from a retrospective database of 138 patients with schizophrenia who had prescribed clozapine at least a month were reviewed, with the motives for discontinuation coded. The causes for termination were analyzed. Results : Over two-thirds of the patient had ceased clozapine. The two most common causes for discontinuation were side-effects (50%), and own decision (30%). Somnolence accounted for 34% of all side-effects induced discontinuations. Hematological problems accounted for 23% of side-effect. The Maximal treatment dose of clozapine was higher in continuation group (442.36 mg) than in discontinuation group (397.26 mg). The CGI-S score when prescribing clozapine last was higher in discontinuation group than in continuous group. The patients who took atypical antipsychotics before clozapine tended to cease clozapine because of side-effects than who took typical agent. Conclusion : Future studies should seek various methods to relieve side-effects of clozapine. Prospective researches using more objective tools are needed to clarify the reason for clozapine discontinuation. (Korean J Schizophr Res 2016;19:17-24)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.