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Clozapine-Related Diarrhea and Colitis: Report of 4 Cases
Susanna Maria Rask, Kaisa E Luoto, Anssi Solismaa
1Department of Gastroenterology and Alimentary Tract Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Tampere, Finland.
Background:
During clozapine treatment, diarrhea is a rare but clinically relevant adverse effect. Cases of microscopic colitis and eosinophilic colitis have been previously reported.
Procedures:
We present 4 patients who developed severe diarrhea in early weeks of clozapine therapy.
Findings:
Two patients had significant peripheral eosinophilia 1 week after diarrhea symptoms. One of these patients also had Charcot-Leyden crystals in stool afterward, confirming the presence of eosinophils in the gut lumen. One of our patients had a confirmed microscopic colitis and later also neutropenia, which required treatment.
Conclusions:
Charcot-Leyden crystals in stool may be associated with concurrent diarrhea and eosinophilia during clozapine treatment, which is a previously unreported finding. Occurrence of blood dyscrasias with diarrhea symptoms during clozapine treatment needs further investigation to understand the possible shared mechanisms.
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