Agranulocytosis, a potentially serious but reversible condition in which the white blood cells that typically fight infection in the body are destroyed, is a possible side effect of clozapine.
Clozapine, an atypical neuroleptic agent with D 4 receptor antagonist activity, does not cause tardive dyskinesia but may cause agranulocytosis.
If the patient failed to recover, relapsed, or developed agranulocytosis, their treatment was changed to conventional antipsychotics.
In addition, about 1 percent of those who take it develop agranulocytosis, a potentially fatal blood disease, within the first year of use, and all patients on clozapine must be monitored regularly for this side effect.
It is difficult to know whether certain drugs cause agranulocytosis, and what the risk is.
Neutropenia means low numbers of neutrophils in the blood and agranulocytosis means an absence of neutrophils in the blood and agranulocytosis means an absence of neutrophils.
The total costs of treating tardive dyskinesia and agranulocytosis were taken from published estimates.