clozapine

Clozapine and myocarditis

Clozapine, marketed in Australia since 1993, is an effective antipsychotic for the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia. All patients taking clozapine are enrolled in a registry and monitored regularly, primarily to detect the development of neutropenia and agranulocytosis.

A range of cardiac disorders has been associated with the use of clozapine, the most serious being myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. A boxed warning alerting prescribers to these reactions is included in the Product Information for clozapine.