Implications for anaesthesia in a patient established on clozapine treatment

Doherty, J.; Bell, P.F.; King, D.J.

doi:10.1016/j.ijoa.2005.04.015

« Previous Next »International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia
Volume 15, Issue 1 , Pages 59-62, January 2006

Implications for anaesthesia in a patient established on clozapine treatment

Department of Anaesthetics, Royal Victoria Hospital, Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, and Department of Therapeutics and Pharmacology, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Accepted 24 April 2005.

John Doherty MD, FFARCSI, Specialist Registrar, Department of Anaesthetics, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Pamela F Bell MB FRCA FFARCSI, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, David J King, MD, FRCPsych, FRCP(I), DPM, Professor of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Department of Therapeutics and Pharmacology, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Summary

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent with a novel pharmacological profile and multiple clinical properties. Because of its side effects, it is recommended in treatment of severe resistant schizophrenia for which purpose it is remarkably effective. Little is known about the safety profile of clozapine during pregnancy and labour and because it is now used more commonly to manage schizophrenia, it is important that we as anaesthetists are aware of its many interactions and potential side effects. We present a case of a successful emergency caesarean section in a schizophrenic patient on clozapine treatment.