Pipotiazine: uses and side effects of this drug

Antipsychotic medication, along with psychotherapy, has been helping people with some type of mental disorder to lead as normal a life as possible for years.

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.

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What is pipotiazine?

Pipothiazine 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 control of certain mental illnesses classified as psychotic.

The patient begins to notice the effects of pipotiazine between 48 and 72 after the first administration and reaches its maximum effect potential within a week.

In addition, it also has antiemetic, anticholinergic, alpha-adrenergic blocking, and sedative effects

; although these are much lower compared to other phenothiazine drugs.

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In what disorders is it used?

As previously mentioned, pipotiazine is an antipsychotic, therefore 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.

Other psychological condition for which may be useful is in psychotic anxiety. However, this treatment should never exceed twelve weeks in duration and will always be given 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 for the treatment of children with severe behavioral problems such as hyperexcitability.

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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 given by a health professional once every four weeks approximately and have the advantage that their action is much faster than by mouth.

However, in cases where the physician deems 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 cause 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 in the organism tend to affect mainly the Central Nervous System and can be grouped into very common, common, occasional, and rare side effects.

In addition, in the event that the patient experiences incidents with a fever above 41º, severe muscle tension or respiratory problems, the treatment should be suspended immediately.

very frequent effects

Those that appear in more than 25% of cases. These are:

• Drowsiness.
• Sedation.

frequent

They appear in between 10 and 25% of patients. Are:

• Blurry vision.
• urinary problems.
• Constipation.
• dry mouth

occasional

They only occur between 1 and 9% of the times that the patient consumes pipotiazine. These occasional effects are distinguished by the fact that there is an increased risk of occurrence only at the start 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.
• vertigos
• paralytic ileus.

rare side effects

These occur in less than 1% of cases. 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, stiffness muscle, akinesia, respiratory problems, photosensitivity and seizures among many others 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, many and various body systems, the patient must inform his doctor of any special health condition in which he is find.

Likewise, there are numerous drugs such as anticholinergics or antidiabetics, among many others, that may interfere with each other and cause serious adverse reactions in the person who consumes this medicine, so the doctor must be informed.

Regarding alcohol consumption, research carried out with other phenothiazine antipsychotics have revealed potentiation of toxicity. Which leads to severe central nervous system depression and multiple extrapyramidal side effects.

Pregnancy and lactation

Although animal studies have not revealed teratogenic adverse effects; that is to say, that the administration of pipotiazine in pregnant females has not caused malformations in the fetus. It is known that phenothiazines can cross the placenta.Therefore, it is recommended only for occasional use and in very low doses in pregnant women.

The administration of this medicine 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 treatment approaches. Birth.

Regarding lactation, it is unknown if pipotiazine can be excreted in breast milk. However, studies with other phenothiazines establish that it is, but the effects on the baby are still unknown.

However, since these effects can be considerable The administration of this drug in lactating mothers is not recommended..

Children and the elderly

Both minor patients and those elderly people in whom the administration of pipotiazine is necessary, are much more susceptible to unwanted side effects. Therefore, it is recommended that a tight monitoring of their health status be carried out.

Driving and operating machines

Pipotiazine can cause alterations in the 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.