No abstract

No abstract

Clozapine is an important antipsychotic agent that has a unique profile of clinical benefits, but that has also been associated with several serious and potentially life-threatening safety concerns. In order to minimise the impact of haematological adverse events, health professionals treating patients with clozapine are currently required to register their patients on a centrally administered data network and to conform to strict protocols. The consensus statement documented in this article extends existing protocols by recommending monitoring of patients treated with clozapine for additional adverse effects during treatment. This consensus statement reflects the current practice at five major public psychiatric hospitals in Victoria, Australia, for the monitoring and management of clozapine-related adverse events, and has been implemented at these sites because of emerging safety concerns associating clozapine with cardiovascular and metabolic adverse effects.

No abstract

A 78-year-old woman with reduced left ventricular contractile function underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (3 saphenous vein grafts and an internal mammary artery graft) and mitral valve repair. Inotropic support and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) counterpulsation were required for weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. The intra-aortic pressure and ECG tracings (Figure 1) on day 2 after surgery are shown. During continuous atrioventricular sequential pacing and 2:1 IABP counterpulsation, enhanced early diastolic aortic pressure (arrows) and reduced aortic end-diastolic pressure during every second cardiac cycle are demonstrated.