According to the study published in CNS Drugs on June 16, 2017, 37 out of 10,000 clozapine users have serious gastrointestinal hypomotility with clozapine the suspected cause, and at least 7 of them actually die (case fatality rate 18 %). Researchers say actual numbers may be bigger due to underreporting. However even the reported prevalence differs significantly from clozapine prescribing information issued by regulators and pharmaceutical companies, none of which mention closapine induced gastrointestinal hypomotility (CIGH), and which report serious gastrointestinal complications at rates of <1/10,000, almost a 40-fold difference. More analysis can be found at the website www.madinamerica.com
The results of the study and the description of deaths of people who have been treated with clozapine can be found here. Apart from the deaths the article mentions that “earlier studies by the same team [Every-Palmer and Ellis] measured the frequency and extent to which clozapine affected gut function, finding that clozapine slowed the gut in 80 per cent of users.” It is also mentioned by researchers that “the manufacturers’ official drug safety data sheets are completely out of date” (Every-Palmer) and “not providing adequate information may contribute to poor awareness of clozapine’s impacts on gut motility – with serious or fatal consequences” (Ellis)”.