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Published on: February 28, 2013
Clozaphobia: Is avoidance of clozapine in diabetes warranted?
Vanteemar S Sreeraj1, Damodaran Dinakaran1, Sachin Nagendrappa1
1InSTAR Program, Schizophrenia & Metabolic Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Abstract:
Despite its superior efficacy, clozapine is an underutilized agent, primarily owing to the "Clozaphobia"-fear of clozapine's adverse effects. Emergent cautions on metabolic side-effects have contributed to avoidance of clozapine prescription. Here, we describe our clinical experience with nine patients having schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorders with comorbid diabetes mellitus and treated with clozapine. Interestingly, all patients could be maintained on optimal glycemic control even after clozapine. In conclusion, a critique on the potential risks versus benefits of clozapine amidst our observations from this case series adds further supporting evidence to the emerging literature on the clinical utility of clozapine in treating schizophrenia patients with diabetes mellitus.
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