Clozapine and Covid-19 – What should Psychiatrists Know?

Time to read: 3 minutes

Clozapine and COVID: 

Clozapine is associated with neutropenia and agranulocytosis.

Patients with COVID-19 may have reduced blood counts that can impact on the ongoing prescribing of clozapine.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare position statement suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure uninterrupted supply of clozapine:

The frequency of Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) monitoring may be reduced to every 3 months for people fulfilling all of the following criteria:

  1. Continuous clozapine treatment for >1 year
  2. Have never had an ANC <2000/μl (or <1500/μl if patient has a history of benign ethnic neutropenia)
  3. No safe or practical access to ANC testing

References

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