Clozapine is the gold standard for treatment-resistant schizophrenia but may cause rare pulmonary adverse effects. Most reported cases occur within weeks of initiation. We describe a 31-year-old woman with schizophrenia and mild intellectual developmental disorder, treated with clozapine for nearly one year before developing prolonged pulmonary inflammation. Despite antibiotic therapy for an initial infection, symptoms persisted and further investigations revealed organizing pneumonia. Rapid improvement followed clozapine discontinuation. This case raises the possibility that clozapine contributed to the persistence of pulmonary inflammation following an initial infectious episode. Clinicians should consider clozapine as a possible contributor to persistent pulmonary inflammation even after long-term exposure.
Feghali et al. (Wed,) studied this question.