Clozapine (CZP)

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic medication used in the treatment of schizophrenia, and is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Clozapine is usually used only in patients that have not responded to other anti-psychotic treatments due to its danger of causing agranulocytosis as well as the costs of having to have blood tests continually during treatment. It is, however, one of the very effective anti-psychotic treatment choices. Patients are monitored weekly for the first six months. If there are no low counts the patient can be monitored every two weeks for an additional six months. Afterwards, the patient may qualify for every four-week monitoring. Clozapine has numerous severe side effects including agranulocytosis, bowel infarction, and seizures, and has been associated with myocarditis and diabetes though those relationships have not been confirmed.