Strong Treatment Response and High Maintenance Rates of Clozapine in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol
; 26(5): 428-35, 2016 06.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26784704
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) is a rare but severe form of the disorder, which is often treatment refractory. Short-term studies have indicated a greater differential efficacy, evident through effect sizes, favoring clozapine over other agents in alleviating negative symptoms in COS patients compared with adult-onset patients (AOS). There have been no data for COS patients on long-term compliance with clozapine treatment. Therefore, we wanted to know, over a span of up to 24 years, how many of our COS cohort had remained on clozapine for at least 2 years. We review short-term treatment data and present updated long-term data on compliance and functioning for our patients.METHODS:
We present the results for long-term medication maintenance over a 24 year observation period for our cohort of 131 patients. Of this cohort, 91.6% (120) were available for follow-up information from either in-person or telephone contact with the patient and/or family members. We defined clozapine compliance as ≥2 years receiving this medication and doing well.RESULTS:
We were able to contact 120 of the 131 patients. In spite of the additional cost and inconvenience of regular blood monitoring, 87 patients (72.5%, 87/120) adhered to long-term clozapine maintenance therapy with dosages ranging from 50 to 900 mg, and a median dosage of 500 mg. This rate exceeds the long-term clozapine maintenance rates reported for AOS patients.CONCLUSIONS:
Short-term data on differential efficacy and long-term maintenance data suggest a possibly greater efficacy of clozapine, relative to other antipsychotics, in COS than in AOS. Our overall findings indicate that very early-onset schizophrenic patients may be more responsive to clozapine. This extends other support for clozapine as an option in the treatment of early-onset schizophrenia.
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Esquizofrenia Infantil
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Cooperación del Paciente
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Resultado del Tratamiento
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Cuidados a Largo Plazo
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Clozapina
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
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Diagnostic_studies
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Etiology_studies
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Incidence_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol
Asunto de la revista:
PEDIATRIA
/
PSICOFARMACOLOGIA
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article