An Assessment of Clinical Practice of Clozapine Therapy for Veterans

The outcome of clozapine therapy for 2,996 patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia was examined over a 5-year period. Patients were in the Veteran Affairs health care system. Compared with individuals who showed a modest improvement, those with a more robust response to clozapine had higher initial Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores & were three times more likely to have been suicidal in the month before starting clozapine therapy. (10 refs.)