| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 19
| Issue : 3 | Page : 159-163 |
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A decade experience with the use of clozapine in a Nigerian tertiary hospital
MM Yerima1, AW Ibrahim1, UB Musami2, SK Pindar1, BM Kundi2
1 Department of Mental Health, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri; Department of Mental Health, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria
2 Department of Mental Health, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
M M Yerima
Department of Mental Health, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1118-8561.192390
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Background: Clozapine as the prototypical atypical antipsychotic has proven benefits in treatment-refractory schizophrenia as well as reduced propensity for extrapyramidal side effects. Literature is lacking from Nigeria on experience with clozapine use, the characteristics of patients and white blood cell (WBC) counts monitoring practices. This study looks at the demographic and clinical characteristics as well as WBC monitoring practices of patients on clozapine. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive study that surveyed all patients on clozapine in the center for a decade. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics, such as Chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation coefficient, were used to analyze the data using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Results: In the period covered by the study, 70 patients were found to have been on clozapine. The mean age of the patients was 39.4 years with standard deviation (SD) of 13.7 years. The majority of the patients were males making up 61.4% of the study sample. The predominant ethnic group of the patients was Kanuri making 60% of the sample. Up to 60% of the patients had at least primary school education while the remaining 40% had no formal education. The majority of the patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which made up 65.7%. The mean number of WBC count checks was 4.1 (SD = 4.8). ANOVA shows that there was no statistically significant association between the number of WBC count checks and the educational attainment of patients or their diagnosis (education: F = 1.354, P = 0.266; diagnosis: F = 2.07, P = 0.097). Conclusion: Clozapine still remains the antipsychotic of last resort in a number of psychiatric patients which, therefore, underscores the importance of studying the patients on the medication. |
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