Clinician’s attitude towards clozapine prescription

IntroductionCurrent clinical guidelines recommend the use of clozapine for the treatment of refractory schizophrenia, present in up to a third of patients with this disease. Despite the evidence, the data point to low prescription, underdosing, and delayed initiation.ObjectivesThe objective of the study is to elucidate which factors may interfere in clozpine prescription.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional observational study, carried out using a survey designed specifically for it.It was answered online by seventy psychiatrists affiliated with the Catalan Society of Psychiatry.ResultsMore than half admitted having prescribed two or more antipsychotics without having previously ruled out pseudorefractoriness through depot treatment. 70% recognized the need for monitoring as the main prescription barrier, while the main reason for withdrawal was its adverse effects. The most alarming was considered agranulocytosis, with drooling, drowsiness and weight gain being the most reported.Statistically significant differences (p=0.031) were found in relation to the years of experience and the device where clozapine was preferred to be started: 20 years outpatient office.Statistically significant differences were observed in the preference of the device for its initiation depending on the usual work device: hospitalization (p