Metabolic changes associated with antipsychotic use.

Metabolic changes associated with antipsychotic use.

One focus that I have had lately is that of patients being treated with a second-generation anti-psychotic. Many patients who take these medications experience weight gain, dyslipidemia, and elevated A1C levels, increasing their risk for obesity, cardiac disease, and diabetes (Lieberman, 2004). I think it would be of benefit to monitor patients who are prescribed an anti-psychotic for weight gain, as well monitoring their lipid profiles and A1C. The spreadsheet I have created in Excel can collect these various data points and in the end, can be used to determine things such as average increase in weight, total cholesterol, or A1C. This could be a helpful tool in monitoring patients for things such as metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, in which an educated decision could be made (or with the help of a CDSS) to prescribe the patient a statin to help regulate cholesterol or metformin to help lower A1C. Metformin has also been shown to be helpful in reducing weight gain associated with the use of anti-psychotics (de Silva et al., 2016). de Silva, V.A., Suraweera, C., Ratnatunga, S.S. et al. (2016) Metformin in prevention and treatment of antipsychotic induced weight gain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry 16, 341.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1049-5 Lieberman J. A., 3rd (2004). Metabolic changes associated with antipsychotic use. Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatr