Low-dose amisulpride for debilitating clozapine-induced sialorrhea: Case series and review of literature

Abstract

Clozapine-induced sialorrhea (CIS) affects about one-third of patients treated with clozapine, at times can be stigmatizing, socially embarrassing, disabling, affect quality-of-life, cause poor compliance and can be potentially life-threatening adverse effect. Prompt and effective treatment of CIS may assist treatment tolerability, adherence, and better outcomes in patients with treatment nonresponsive schizophrenia. The beneficial effect of amisulpride augmentation of clozapine therapy for such patients may be enhanced by its anti-salivatory effect on CIS. Current series of five subjects who developed CIS that responded poorly to anticholinergic drugs found drastic improvement in daytime and nocturnal CIS with very low-dose (50-100 mg/day) of amisulpride. Low-dose amisulpride augmentation may also provide strong ameliorating effect on CIS. Nevertheless, a long-term, large-scale study with a broader dose range is warranted to evaluate the stability of this effect across time.

Keywords

• adverse effect
• amisulpride
• clozapine
• hypersalivation
• sialorrhea