Learned lessons from patients who take clozapine: A case study

Abstract

Preexisting medical conditions should be considered before prescribing clozapine. Ongoing education on medication and mental illness for patients and family members is essential to prepare them for adherence to management plans. Healthcare providers are responsible for monitoring the side effects of clozapine.

Educational needs and psychoeducation interventions in clozapine users: a narrative review

“…The studies described in Table 2 may be categorized into three clusters: (i) studies ( n = 7) reporting educational interventions performed in dedicated samples of clozapine users (19‐20,22‐23,46) or relatives (24); a case report also being included in this category (47); (ii) publications ( n = 3) describing educational interventions with no individual patient data (48,49) including one study providing aggregated data (3); and (iii) studies (n = 2) assessing information on clozapine on websites dealing with schizophrenia (30,50).…”

“…With regard to clozapine exposure, a single study was carried out in patients with TRS who had never used it (20). One case report described an intervention in a patient with schizophrenia initiating clozapine (47). Other studies evaluating the impact of educational interventions included chronic clozapine users with a mean duration of use ranging from 3 months to 7 years.…”

“…Group sessions were used in a single study (20). No formalized session was described in the first case series (24) or in the case report (47). Five studies described educational programmes based upon one (22), two (23) or three structured sessions (19,20).…”