Patterns of C-reactive protein trends during clozapine titration and the onset of clozapine-induced inflammation: a case series of weekly and daily C-reactive protein monitoring.

Background: International guidelines for clozapine titration recommend measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) weekly for 4 weeks after clozapine initiation to prevent fatal inflammatory adverse events, including myocarditis. However, limited evidence exists regarding whether weekly CRP monitoring can prevent clozapine-induced inflammation. Aims: We examined the relationship between CRP trends and the development of clozapine-induced inflammation. We also explored the usefulness and limitations of CRP monitoring during clozapine titration. Method: This study presents 17 and 4 cases of weekly and daily CRP monitoring during clozapine initiation, respectively. Results: Among 17 patients with weekly CRP measurements, 7 had fever. Elevated CRP levels were detected before the onset of fever in two of the seven patients. Of the five remaining patients, the CRP levels on a previous test had been low; however, the fever developed suddenly. Of the 10 patients with no fever under weekly CRP monitoring, three had elevated CRP levels >3.0 mg/dL. Refraining from increasing the clozapine dose may have prevented fever in these patients. Among four patients with daily CRP measurements, two became febrile. In both cases, CRP levels increased almost simultaneously with the onset of fever. Conclusion: Weekly and daily CRP monitoring during clozapine titration is valuable for preventing clozapine-induced inflammation, assessing its severity, and guiding clozapine dose adjustments. Weekly CRP monitoring may not adequately predict clozapine-induced inflammation in some cases. Consequently, clinicians should be aware of the sudden onset of clozapine-induced inflammation, even if CRP levels are low. Daily CRP monitoring is better for detecting clozapine-induced inflammation.

Characteristics of suicide attempts in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in comparison with depression: a study of emergency room visit cases in Japan.

We worked on characterizing suicide attempts in patients with schizophrenia in comparison with mood disorders. This study population comprised 260 patients with F2 disorders (ICD-10), i.e., "schizophrenic group" and 705 patients with F3 disorders, i.e., "depressive group" who presented at the psychiatric emergency department of our hospital for 8 years. They were compared in three age groups: young (≤24 years), middle-aged (25-44 years), and elderly (≥45 years). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with the seriousness of the suicide attempt method. The schizophrenic group (≥25 years) had a younger mean age and higher prevalences of "within-1-year suicide attempts" and "past suicide attempts" than the depressive group. The Schizophrenic group tended to use serious methods, such as "jumping from high places," "throwing oneself in front of an oncoming train," and "burning oneself," in their suicide attempts, with "hallucination-delusion" accounting for an overwhelmingly large percentage of suicide attempt motives, irrespective of the age group. In the elderly group, the ratio of "no-housemate" patients was high. In all age groups, jobless individuals were prevalent, and the schizophrenic group had lower LCU (Life Change Unit) scores than did the depressive group. The middle-aged cases of schizophrenic group had higher BPRS (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) scores and lower GAS (Global Assessment Scale) scores. Regarding factors influencing the seriousness of the methods, a history of within-1-year suicide attempts increased the method seriousness in the schizophrenic group. Years of education correlated with the method seriousness in the schizophrenic group. Low scores of overall health on the GAS increased the method seriousness in both groups.