Use of Point-of-care Testing Devices for Patients on Clozapine: A Literature Review

Clozapine, an antipsychotic medication for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, remains underutilized due to its serious side effects and need for extensive hematologic monitoring. Recently, discussions have focused on the use of point-of-care testing (POCT) devices to monitor laboratory values, including the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and clozapine concentration, in patients being treated with clozapine. This review assesses whether these devices could ease the monitoring burden on patients and providers without compromising the accuracy of results and subsequent patient safety. We found several devices that are reported to have acceptable accuracy for the initial screening of ANC and clozapine concentration. Although confirmatory standard venous testing is sometimes required based on point-of-care results, these devices offer results more quickly than traditional methods, increasing utility for clinicians. Further research is needed to evaluate the performance of these devices in diverse patient populations, including individuals with benign ethnic neutropenia and those susceptible to diurnal variation of ANC.