Clozapine prescription pattern in patients with schizophrenia in Asia: The REAP survey (2016)

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2020-05, Vol.287, p.112271-112271, Article 112271
• Main Authors: Xu, Shi-Wei, Dong, Min, Zhang, Qinge, Yang, Shu-Yu, Chen, Lian-Yu, Sim, Kang, He, Yan-Ling, Chiu, Helen FK, Sartorius, Norman, Tan, Chay-Hoon, Chong, Mian-Yoon, Shinfuku, Naotaka, Lin, Shih-Ku, Ng, Chee H., Ungvari, Gabor S., Najoan, Eunice, Kallivayalil, Roy Abraham, Jamaluddin, Ruzita, Javed, Afzal, Iida, Hitoshi, Swe, Thiha, Zhang, Bin, Xiang, Yu-Tao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asia; Clozapine; Prescription patterns; Schizophrenia
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.02.056

•Clozapine is an effective antipsychotic medication for treatment resistant schizophrenia and is widely used in some Asian countries.•Regular surveys are useful to rationalize the prescription patterns of psychotropic medications in clinical settings.•In total, 18.4% of schizophrenia patients received clozapine in Asian patients with schizophrenia, from 2.6% in Japan to 32.3% in Hong Kong.•The clinical rationale of clozapine prescription needs careful consideration in Asia. Clozapine is an effective antipsychotic medication for treatment resistant schizophrenia and is widely used in Asian countries. This study investigated clozapine prescription patterns and their associated factors in Asian countries and territories based on the database of the Research on Asian Psychotropic prescription study (REAP) conducted in 2016. Demographic and clinical information of 3744 schizophrenia patients in 15 Asian countries and territories was collected with a standardized data collection form. In total, 18.4% of the sample received clozapine, ranging from 2.6% in Japan to 32.3% in Hong Kong. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that higher antipsychotic dose (OR = 1.002, P