RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Effect of Clozapine on Time Assigned to Restrictive Housing in a State Prison Population
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 581
OP 589
DO 10.29158/JAAPL.210011-21
VO 49
IS 4
A1 Theodore R. Zarzar
A1 James P. Mayo III
A1 David L. Rosen
A1 Joseph B. Williams
A1 Terri L. Catlett
A1 Maria G. O'Connell
A1 Genell N. Rashad
A1 John G. Reed
A1 Carrie L. Brown
A1 Brian V. Robbins
A1 Herman A. Naftel
A1 Brian B. Sheitman
YR 2021
UL http://jaapl.org/content/49/4/581.abstract
AB This study examined the effect of clozapine on time assigned to restrictive housing (RH; i.e., solitary confinement), disciplinary infractions, and assaults on custody staff among patients treated within the North Carolina prison system. Records were reviewed for patients initiated on clozapine (n = 84) over a 3.5-year period. Fifty-nine patients completed at least three consecutive months of treatment and were included in data analysis. Assigned RH days and disciplinary infractions were assessed for the periods prior to and after treatment with clozapine. Patients accumulated 13,500 RH days pretreatment and 3,560 days postclozapine initiation. There was a significant reduction in RH days with clozapine treatment (P < .05). Patients with personality disorders (n = 36) had a significant decrease in RH days (P < .05), while those with psychotic disorders (n = 23) showed a decrease with borderline significance (P = .051). There were 253 disciplinary infractions pretreatment, including 27 assaults on custody staff, and 118 infractions posttreatment, including 7 assaults; the decrease in infractions was significant in the first three months of treatment (P < .05). The mean ± SD duration of treatment was 269 ± 102 days. Expanding clozapine use in state prisons should be a high priority, as these data are consistent with reports of clozapine's benefits in community settings.