Clozapine-associated neutropenia following augmentation with sodium valproate

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Clozapine is gold standard for the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia. It can offer life-changing symptom reduction where other antipsychotics have failed, and for these patients, treatment with clozapine should be maintained, if in any possible way. However, treatment with clozapine comes with a risk of developing potentially fatal adverse reactions, for example, severe neutropenia or agranulocytosis, in which case, treatment must be discontinued. Here, we present a case of clozapine-related neutropenia that commenced after the addition of sodium valproate. A subsequent re-challenge to clozapine resulted in severe neutropenia and led to the permanent cessation of clozapine treatment. The patient had been tolerating clozapine for more than a year before the addition of sodium valproate. The awareness of an interaction between clozapine and sodium valproate could help reduce the risk of clozapine-induced neutropenia and subsequent clozapine discontinuation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSage Open Medical Case Reports
Volume9
Number of pages3
ISSN2050-313X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

    Research areas

  • adverse reaction, agranulocytosis, Clozapine, drug interaction, neutropenia, valproate

ID: 272237020