Cohort study suggests benefit of earlier initiation of clozapine

A population‐based cohort study has found that among patients with first‐episode schizophrenia who experienced a relapse, continuation of the same treatment or switching to a non‐clozapine antipsychotic was not as effective as switching to clozapine in preventing a second relapse. The results call into question the recommendation in treatment guidelines to use clozapine only as third‐line treatment. Study results were published in the February 2025 issue of Lancet Psychiatry .