Gaps in health care for the somatic health of outpatients with severe mental illness.

The physical health of outpatients with severe mental illness (SMI) can be improved by changes in the health-care system. Analysis of current practice is necessary to develop these strategies. We compared the number of somatic health problems of outpatients with SMI with the frequency of consulting a general practitioner (GP).

Risk factors for overweight and diabetes mellitus in residential psychiatric patients.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for overweight and diabetes mellitus in long-stay psychiatric inpatients.

Method: Statistical analysis of data collected from medical, laboratory, and pharmacy files.

Results: 80% of the 256 patients were suffering from schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.

Retrospective evaluation of the effect of omeprazole on clozapine metabolism.

Objective: To study the effect of the replacement of omeprazole by pantoprazole on clozapine metabolism in 13 psychiatric patients, who used both clozapine and omeprazole.

Method: Retrospective study of the medical files.

Results: In comparison to smokers, a significant rise of the serum clozapine levels was observed in all non-smoking patients, whilst the daily dose of clozapine remained unchanged.