Antipsychotic medication, along with psychotherapy, has been helping people with some type of mental disorder for years to lead as normal a life as possible.
One of these antipsychotics is pipotiazine This drug is used in numerous mental illnesses, but it also has a large number of side effects. We will talk about all this and some points throughout this article.
Pipotiazine is an antipsychotic or neuroleptic from the phenothiazine group Like the rest of the elements in this group, pipotiazine has a depressant effect on the central nervous system (CNS).
By blocking dopamine receptors, this drug transforms behavior, prevents overstimulation and promotes the control of certain mental illnesses classified as psychotic.
The patient begins to notice the effects of pipotiazine between 48 and 72 hours after the first administration and reaches its maximum effect potential within a week.
Furthermore, it also has also has antiemetic, anticholinergic, alpha-adrenergic blocking and sedative effects ; although these are much lower compared to other phenothiazine drugs.
In what disorders is it used?
As mentioned above, pipotiazine is an antipsychotic, so its use is restricted, in most cases, to psychiatric disorders such as chronic psychosis; long-term schizophrenia , productive or deficient; chronic hallucinatory psychosis and delusional states.
Another psychological condition for which may be useful in psychotic anxiety However, this treatment should never exceed twelve weeks in duration and will always be administered as an alternative to the first-line drugs used for this condition.
However, it is also used in certain patients to control nausea and vomiting or as an adjuvant treatment for tetanus and acute intermittent porphyria.
Finally, pipotiazine may be effective in the treatment of children with serious behavioral problems such as hyperexcitability.
How is it administered?
The use of this drug must always be indicated by the doctor. Habitually, pipotiazine is usually administered intramuscularly , in doses between 25 and 200 mg depending on the patient’s symptoms. These doses are administered by a healthcare professional approximately once every four weeks and have the advantage that their action is much faster than orally.
However, in cases in which the physician believes it is necessary, this can be administered orally in a single daily dose of between 10 and 20 mg. The patient should never take more pipotiazine than recommended. That is, you should not increase or decrease the dose, nor consume it on more occasions than indicated, since this can pose serious problems for the person’s health.
What are the side effects?
Pipotiazine is distinguished by causing frequent adverse effects However, in most cases, these are quite tolerable and not very serious. These consequences on the body tend to mainly affect the central nervous system and can be grouped into very frequent, frequent, occasional and rare side effects.
Furthermore, in the event that the patient experiences incidents with fever above 41º, severe muscle tension or respiratory problems, the treatment must be suspended immediately.
Very common effects
Those that appear in more than 25% of cases. These are:
They appear in between 10 and 25% of patients. Are:
Occasional
Only between 1 and 9% of the time the patient consumes pipotiazine. These occasional effects are distinguished because there is an increased risk of occurrence only at the beginning of treatment. Among them are:
Extrapyramidal symptoms : parkinsonism, akathisia and dystonia.
Orthostatic hypotension.
Hypertension
Tachycardia or bradycardia.
Transient leukopenia.
Urticaria
Maculopapular or acneiform eruptions.
Angioedema.
Insomnia
Vertigo.
Paralytic ileus.
Rare side effects
These occur less than 1% of the time. They tend to appear between the fourth and tenth week after the start of treatment or even months and years later.
Agranulocytosis.
tardive dyskinesia
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Which can be fatal between 15 and 20% of the time and is manifested by fever, muscle rigidity, akinesia, respiratory problems, photosensitivity and seizures among many other symptoms.
What precautions should be taken into account?
Due to the potency of the effects of this drug and the possible side effects that it can cause in numerous and diverse body systems, the patient must inform his or her doctor of any special health condition in which he or she is found.
Likewise, there are numerous drugs such as anticholinergics or antidiabetics, among many others, that They can interfere with each other and cause serious adverse reactions in the person who consumes this medication, so the doctor must be informed.
Regarding alcohol consumption, research carried out with other phenothiazine antipsychotics have revealed an enhancement of toxicity Which leads to severe depression of the central nervous system and multiple extrapyramidal adverse effects.
Pregnancy and lactation
Although animal studies have not revealed teratogenic adverse effects; That is to say, the administration of pipotiazine in pregnant females has not caused malformations in the fetus. It is known that phenothiazines can cross the placenta so only occasional use and in very low doses in pregnant women is recommended.
The administration of this medication in pregnant women is only allowed in those cases in which there are no safer therapeutic alternatives and lowering the dose as the time of delivery approaches.
Regarding breast-feeding, it is unknown whether pipotiazine can be excreted with breast milk. However, studies with other phenothiazines establish that they do, but that the effects on the baby are still unknown.
However, since these effects can be considerable The administration of this drug in nursing mothers is not recommended
Children and elderly
Both minor patients and those of the elderly in whom the administration of pipotiazine is necessary, are much more susceptible to unwanted side effects Therefore, it is recommended that close monitoring of their health status be carried out.
Driving and operating machines
Pipotiazine can cause alterations in reaction time so It is recommended not to drive or operate any type of machinery until the person knows exactly how this medication affects them.
