Clozapine: is it time to relax blood monitoring rules?

The clinical evidence is growing and regulatory momentum in Europe and the UK toward reducing long-term routine blood testing requirements for clozapine, particularly after the first two years based on evidence of very low risk beyond the initial phase. New recommendations and monitoring protocols need to be adopted.

' Patients taking clozapine, the only recommended drug for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, are required to undergo frequent blood monitoring — a system introduced decades ago following a series of patient deaths. However, new evidence suggests that the stringency of these rules may be causing more harm than good.'

Please see link to article by Sophie Willis from the Pharmaceutical Journal

Clozapine: is it time to relax blood monitoring rules?