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12 - Fever, Myocarditis, Interstitial Nephritis, DRESS, Serositis and Cardiomyopathy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2021

Jonathan M. Meyer  and
Stephen M. Stahl
Jonathan M. Meyer
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Stephen M. Stahl
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

Managing clozapine-treated patients requires clinicians to become familiar with specific medical concerns not typically seen with other antipsychotics. Among the many unique adverse events associated with clozapine treatment is a constellation of fever and immune-mediated pathologies including myocarditis, interstitial nephritis, serositis and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). While the onset of fever during the first weeks of clozapine treatment is a common and often benign occurrence, swift action is necessary with the goal of recognizing and addressing more serious issues or minimizing a treatment interruption when evidence for systemic problems is lacking. The latter concept is important, as fever during the first weeks of therapy may appear in approximately 20% of patients, and therefore is not a reason to permanently discontinue clozapine treatment when there is no evidence for myocarditis, interstitial nephritis, or other systemic drug reactions. Cardiomyopathy is another unusual clozapine-related syndrome that is typically a later development, but presents a distinct group of clinical and ethical challenges when clozapine withdrawal fails to induce meaningful improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Through a greater understanding of the time course and phenomenology of fever, myocarditis, interstitial nephritis, serositis, DRESS and cardiomyopathy clinicians can make evidence-based decisions about withholding clozapine treatment, and when resumption or rechallenge appears feasible.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Clozapine Handbook
Stahl's Handbooks
 , pp. 224 - 241
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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