Clozapine-associated pericarditis and pancreatitis in children and adolescents: A systematic literature review and pharmacovigilance study using the VigiBase database. | LitMetric
Mental Health Research Center at Eastern State Hospital, Lexington, KY, USA; Biomedical Research Centre in Mental Health Net (CIBERSAM), Santiago Apostol Hospital, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain. Electronic address:
Published: June 2024
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Background: The literature has paid very little attention to pericarditis, pericardial effusion and pancreatitis during clozapine treatment in children and adolescents.
Methods: Cases of clozapine-associated pericarditis and pancreatitis in children were studied using searches in: 1) PubMed (June 16, 2023), and 2) the World Health Organization's pharmacovigilance database (June 1, 2022), VigiBase. VigiBase uses a logarithmic measure of disproportionality called the information component (IC).
Results: The PubMed search yielded 3 clozapine-associated pericarditis cases, 1 pancreatitis case and 1 with both. VigiBase provided a significant clozapine-associated pericarditis IC = 3.6 with an IC = 2.9 (only 3 cases were expected while 22 were observed). VigiBase provided a significant clozapine-associated pancreatitis IC = 2.2 with an IC = 1.4 (only 3 cases were expected while 16 were observed). In VigiBase clozapine-associated pericarditis and pericardial effusion in youth looked similar and on a continuum with myocarditis, as myocarditis, pericarditis and pancreatitis appeared to occur mainly during clozapine titration. Combining PubMed and VigiBase we identified: 1) 29 cases of at least possible clozapine-associated pericarditis/pericardial effusion (6 probable and 23 possible) including 7 cases with and 22 without myocarditis, and 2) 17 cases of clozapine-associated pancreatitis (1 definite and 16 possible). Two of the pancreatitis cases occurred during overdoses. No fatal outcomes were found in any clozapine-associated pericarditis and pancreatitis cases.
Conclusions: Despite the lack of attention in the literature to clozapine-associated pericarditis and pancreatitis, results demonstrate that they can happen in youth, particularly during titration. Pericarditis and pancreatitis appear to be forms of clozapine-associated inflammation during dose titration.
Mental Health Research Center at Eastern State Hospital, Lexington, KY, USA; Biomedical Research Centre in Mental Health Net (CIBERSAM), Santiago Apostol Hospital, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain. Electronic address:
Background: The literature has paid very little attention to pericarditis, pericardial effusion and pancreatitis during clozapine treatment in children and adolescents.
Methods: Cases of clozapine-associated pericarditis and pancreatitis in children were studied using searches in: 1) PubMed (June 16, 2023), and 2) the World Health Organization's pharmacovigilance database (June 1, 2022), VigiBase. VigiBase uses a logarithmic measure of disproportionality called the information component (IC).
Clinical Features: Cardiotoxicity is a rare but serious side effect of clozapine. We present a case of a psychiatric patient on chronic clozapine 75 mg daily, who presented with congestive heart failure secondary to the cardiotoxic effects of the psychiatric medication.
Therapeutic Challenge: Conventional heart failure treatment failed to improve symptoms.
Objective: Using national Danish registers, we estimated rates of clozapine-associated cardiac adverse events. Rates of undiagnosed myocarditis were estimated by exploring causes of death after clozapine initiation.
Method: Through nationwide health registers, we identified all out-patients initiating antipsychotic treatment (January 1, 1996-January 1, 2015).
