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EFFICACY OF CLOZAPINE IN THE TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Asmaa Mesfer Alshehri , Lamis Hisham Bosi , Afnan Muslah Alshahrany Yahya Mohammed Alreemi , Ahmad Mahmmod Balosh , Eman Abdulla Meshawi , Eman Ayed Almhgany , Khadejah Mohammad Alshahrany

Introduction: Efficacy of clozapine was found superior to other conventional antipsychotic medications in treatment of schizophrenic patients, however many patients were found resistant to clozapine. In this review we aimed to review the evidence that supports use of clozapine as a monotherapy for treatment of schizophrenic patients. Methods: A web-based search was implemented in MEDLINE database to find clinical trials conducted in human and written in English language. Excluded studies were trials assessed the effect of clozapine on levels of laboratory parameters, trials used augmentation pharmacological strategies, trials used adjunctive therapy, trials assessed only discontinuation rate, or dose titration. Further exclusion was made based on full text reading and many studies were excluded. Results: The search resulted in 238 articles, of which only 26 articles found related to the review topic in the primary screening step. In the secondary screening, after full text retrieval, 10 studies were excluded. The included studies in this review were 16 clinical trials which fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The efficacy of clozapine in treatment of schizophrenic patients was higher than any comparison medication in the majority of the included studies. Conclusion: This review supported the evidence of using clozapine in treatment-resistance patients either in adults or children schizophrenic patients, particularly when small doses were used. Keywords: Efficacy, Tolerability, Clozapine, Antipsychotic, Schizophrenia

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