Biochemical abnormalities in schizophrenic patients treated with neuroleptics in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Neuroleptic treatment leads to significant biological abnormalities. This study aimed to determine biochemical abnormalities in schizophrenic patients treated with neuroleptics. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out on patients admitted to "Centre Notre Dame de l'Espérance" (CNDE) in BoboDioulasso. Schizophrenic patients treated with a neuroleptic for a period exceeding one month were included. Sociodemographic variables (age, sex and education) and therapeutic variables (active substance, neuroleptic number, treatment duration) were collected. Biochemical parameters (AST/ALT, glycemia, creatininemia, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides) were measured. Fisher's exact test was used to assess associations at a significance threshold of 0.05%. A Total of 93 schizophrenic patients were included in this study. Biochemical abnormalities were: hypoglycemia (29.03%); hypercreatininemia (39.78%); elevated AST (13.98%); elevated ALT (5.38%); hypercholesterolemia (4.30%); hypoHDLemia (61.29%); hyperLDLemia (19.35%) and hypertriglyceridemia (12.90%). Hypoglycemia and hypercreatininemia were significantly associated with chlorpromazine (p=0.02) and fluphenazine (p=0.00) respectively. Patients with schizophrenia treated with neuroleptics showed in general good biological tolerance. However, a study is needed to better assess the efficacy and biological tolerance of neuroleptics used singly or in combination.