Aspiration Pneumonia and Life-Threatening Bowel Obstruction: Unexpected Complications of Clozapine

Authors Dr. Samuels, Dr. Liu, and Dr. Duong report no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Learning objectives:

After the completion of reading the article, the reader will be able to:

1. Describe the general pathophysiology of sialorrhea, gastrointestinal hypomotility, and their associated risks with clozapine or other antipsychotic medication use.
2. Identify signs and symptoms of clozapine-induced sialorrhea and gastrointestinal hypomotility, and their specific complications of aspiration pneumonia and life-threatening bowel obstruction.
3. List general pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches for managing sialorrhea and gastrointestinal hypomotility in an adult patient.
4. Describe the general published evidence base for various pharmacologic treatments for clozapine-induced sialorrhea and gastrointestinal hypomotility.

CE Article (PDF) Post-Exam

Type of activity: knowledge

Target audience: pharmacists including pharmacy residents

Location: NCCCP eNewsletter and NCCCP website https://ncccp.net/ce/

Date and schedule: December 30, 2017 – December 30, 2020

ACPE – pharmacist accreditation credit hours: 0.75

The ACPE Universal Activity Number: 0217-9999-21-001-H01-P

Go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCCCPClozapine to take the post-exam. Pharmacists who pass the post-test with a score of 70% or higher will be provided a code to report 0.75 credit hours to NAPB until March 5, 2021. 

Fee: Members – Free; Non-members – Free

This is a free CE activity with no financial support from an individual or an organization.

 The American College of Clinical Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

 
The American College of Clinical Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of
continuing pharmacy education. This activity is a knowledge-based activity and will provide 0.75 contact hour of continuing
pharmacy education. To claim continuing pharmacy education credit participants must visit www.accp.com/ce and enter the code provided for exams scoring 70% or higher. All participants must have a valid NABP e-Profile ID and date of birth on file with ACCP and must claim their CPE credit on the ACCP website by March 5, 2021. Statements of credit for this activity will be
available on CPE Monitor approximately 2-3 business days after credit has been claimed on the ACCP website.