Description Module
The Description Module contains narrative descriptions of the clinical trial, including a brief summary and detailed description. These descriptions provide important information about the study's purpose, methodology, and key details in language accessible to both researchers and the general public.
Description Module path is as follows:
Study -> Protocol Section -> Description Module
Description Module
Ignite Creation Date:
2025-12-25 @ 4:05 AM
Ignite Modification Date:
2025-12-25 @ 4:05 AM
NCT ID:
NCT02639702
Brief Summary:
Plasma half-life has routinely been used to establish the dosing schedule of antipsychotics; for example, it is recommended that agents with a short plasma half-life be administered multiple times per day. However, to date, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown no differences in clinical outcomes between once- and twice-daily dosing of various antipsychotics, suggesting that once-daily dosing of antipsychotics is a viable option regardless of plasma half-life. This would apply to clozapine as well; however, there have been no studies comparing once-daily vs. twice-daily dosing regimens of clozapine in terms of efficacy and tolerability. To address this gap in the literature, the investigators shall conduct a pilot, double-blind, RCT to examine efficacy and tolerability following a switch to once-daily dosing regimen of clozapine in patients with schizophrenia receiving clozapine twice a day.
Detailed Description:
Plasma half-life has routinely been used to establish the dosing schedule of antipsychotics; for example, it is recommended that agents with a short plasma half-life be administered multiple times per day. To date, however, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that once-daily dosing of antipsychotics including perphenazine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and asenapine is comparable to twice-daily dosing in terms of efficacy and tolerability, suggesting that once-daily dosing of antipsychotics is a viable option regardless of plasma half-life.
This issue applies to clozapine as well, in that it has a relatively short plasma half-life of 12-16 hours; of note, the product monographs recommends that clozapine be administered more than once daily if the dose exceeds 200 mg/day in Canada. Despite this, in clinical practice clozapine is frequently administered once daily because of convenience and side effects such as a daytime sedation or somnolence, In support of this, a cross-sectional survey done at the investigators' own centre has revealed that clozapine was prescribed once daily in 75.1% of 676 patients, even though \>200 mg/day was administered in 88.6%. However, there have been no studies comparing once-daily vs. twice-daily dosing regimens of clozapine in terms of efficacy and tolerability. To address this gap in the literature, the investigators shall conduct a pilot, double-blind, RCT to examine efficacy and tolerability following a switch to once-daily dosing regimen of clozapine in patients with schizophrenia receiving clozapine twice a day.
Study:
NCT02639702
Study Brief:
Protocol Section:
NCT02639702