Fever Associated with Clozapine Administration: Incidence, Clinical Characteristics, and Related Factors / 대한정신약물학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study aims at investigating the incidence, clinical nature and associated clinical characteristics of the clozapine-induced fever. METHODS: Retrospective review of hospital records was performed for 56 inpatients who had started to take clozapine and stayed at the hospital for four or more weeks after the initiation of clozapine treatment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Clozapine-induced fever was developed in 31% of the patients. The mean peak temperature was 39degrees C and the mean duration of the fever was 3 days. Fever was developed average of 11 days after the initiation of clozapine treatment. All the patients were recovered without discontinuation of clozapine. Demographic variables, the clinical response to clozapine, other drugs administered with clozapine, and the presence of other adverse effects of clozapine were not associated with the clozapine-induced fever.

Intra-familial Correlations of Symptoms and Clinical Characteristics in Multiplex Korean Families with Schizophrenia / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study aims at examining familial associations of symptoms and clinical characteristics in affected sibling or relative pairs of schizophrenia as an effort to identify genetically homogeneous phenotypes. METHODS: Forty-seven relative pairs with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia from thirty-five Korean families multiply affected with schizophrenia were ascertained. Direct interviews were done using the Korean version of Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS). The Krawieka Rating Scale and the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome were also applied for further evaluation of psychopathologies. Intra-familial concordances and correlations of clinical characteristics and symptoms were tested using chi-squared-test and Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: Significantly high concordance rate within relative pairs was found for the diagnosis of paranoid vs. non-paranoid subtype (chi-squared=7.623, p=0.006, df=1). Deficit vs. non-deficit syndrome also showed significant concordance (chi-squared=3.850, p= 0.0497, df=1). Among single symptom items in DIGS, only 'auditory hallucination' showed significant concordance rate (chi-squared= 5.503, p=0.019, df=1). Factor analysis for symptoms items in the Krawiecka Rating Scale indicated three symptom dimensions; negative, psychotic and affective. Psychotic (rho=0.442, p=0.003) and affective dimension scores (rho=0.427, p=0.004) showed significant intra-familial correlations. Age at onset of recognized psychotic symptoms showed significant correlation only within the male sibling pairs. CONCLUSION: Familial factors, possibly genetic factor contribute to the phenotypic characteristics of paranoid vs. non-paranoid subtype, deficit vs. non-deficit syndrome, auditory hallucination, and affective syndrome. It supports their use in the delineation of homogeneous subgroups for future genetic studies