A Comparison of Attitudes, Comfort, and Knowledge of Clozapine Among Two Diverse Samples of US Psychiatrists

Considerable variation in clozapine utilization exists across the United States, and little is known about the perspective of psychiatrists in states with low clozapine use. To better understand clozapine practices, attitudes, and barriers, a survey was administered to a group of southeastern state...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Community mental health journal 2022-04, Vol.58 (3), p.517-525
Main Authors: Cotes, Robert O., Janjua, A. Umair, Broussard, Beth, Lazris, David, Khan, Ayesha, Jiao, Yunshen, Kopelovich, Sarah L., Goldsmith, David R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
Antipsychotics
Attitude of Health Personnel
Attitudes
Clozapine
Clozapine - therapeutic use
Community and Environmental Psychology
Community health care
Continuing education
Dosage
Humans
Medical education
Medical screening
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental health care
Original Paper
Polls & surveys
Polypharmacy
Prescription drugs
Professional training
Psychiatrists
Psychiatry
Psychosis
Psychotropic drugs
Tests
United States
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Summary:Considerable variation in clozapine utilization exists across the United States, and little is known about the perspective of psychiatrists in states with low clozapine use. To better understand clozapine practices, attitudes, and barriers, a survey was administered to a group of southeastern state conference attendees (SSCA; N = 86). The same survey was administered to psychiatrists belonging to a national community psychiatry organization (AACP; N = 57), and differences were analyzed across the two samples. In comparison to the AACP, the SSCA group felt less comfortable, perceived clozapine as less safe and effective, had fewer patients on clozapine, and were more likely to prefer antipsychotic polypharmacy to clozapine use. Across the sample, use of a myocarditis screening protocol was rare (N = 14/76; 18%) and less than half used plasma antipsychotic levels to guide dosage (N = 60/129; 47%). Continuing professional education on clozapine are needed for psychiatrists who see individuals with psychotic disorders.
ISSN:0010-3853
1573-2789
1573-2789
DOI:10.1007/s10597-021-00847-0