Citation

Longhi S, Heres S. BMC Res. Notes 2017; 10(1): e338.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s13104-017-2679-5

PMID

28750684

PMCID

PMC5531006

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Clozapine is known to be a highly effective antipsychotic agent and additionally provides a significant reduction in suicide-risk and aggression. Clozapine-induced cardiomyopathy is a very rare but nonetheless dangerous side-effect, with an incidence of 0.02-0.1%, depending on the literature, and a mortality rate of up to 17.9%.
CASE PRESENTATION: We report on the case of a 25 year-old patient, who was admitted for the evaluation of a potential electroconvulsive therapy due to persistent auditory hallucinations under clozapine. Shortly after admission he was found to be suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, likely caused by his antipsychotic treatment.
CONCLUSION: Clozapine-induced cardiomyopathy should be taken into account when monitoring patients treated with this antipsychotic and regular electrocardiograms should be performed in order to detect possible alterations as soon as possible.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Male; Schizophrenia; Psychosis; Case report; Clozapine; Antipsychotic Agents; Schizophrenia, Paranoid; Cardiomyopathy; Side-effect; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated