Pipothiazine: uses and side effects of this drug

This type of antipsychotic psychotropic drug should be used with great caution because of its adverse effects.

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

One such antipsychotic is pipothiazine.. This drug is used in numerous mental illnesses, but it also has a lot of side effects. We will talk about all this and some other points in this article.

What is pipotiazine?

Pipotiazine is an antipsychotic or neuroleptic of the phenothiazine group.. Like the other elements of this group, pipothiazine has a depressant effect on the central nervous system (CNS).

By blocking dopamine receptors, this drug transforms behavior, prevents overstimulation and helps control certain mental illnesses classified as psychotic.

The patient begins to notice the effects of pipotiazine 48 to 72 hours 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 less than those of the first administration.although these are much less in comparison with other phenothiazine drugs.

In what disorders is it used?

As cited above, pipothiazine is an antipsychotic so its use is restricted, on most occasions, to psychiatric disorders such as chronic psychosis; long-standing schizophreniaThe following conditions are also considered to be a psychological condition: productive or deficient psychosis; chronic hallucinatory psychosis and delusional states.

Another psychological condition for which it may be it can be useful is in the psychotic anxiety. However, this treatment should never exceed twelve weeks in duration and should always be administered as an alternative to the first-line drugs used for this condition.

However, it is also used in certain patients for the control of Nausea and vomiting or as an adjunctive treatment for tetanus and acute intermittent porphyria.

Finally, pipotiazine may be effective in the treatment of children with severe behavioral problems such as hyperexcitability.

How is it administered?

The use of this drug must always be indicated by the physician. Usually, pipothiazine is usually administered intramuscularly.The doses are between 25 and 200 mg depending on the patient's symptomatology. These doses are administered by a health professional approximately once every four weeks and have the advantage that their action is much faster than orally.

However, in cases where the physician deems it necessary, it can be administered orally. may 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 to say, the dose should not be increased or decreased, nor should it be taken on more occasions than indicated, since this can cause serious problems for the patient's health.

What are the side effects?

Pipothiazine is known for its frequent side effects. However, in most cases, these are quite tolerable and not very serious. These consequences on the body tend to affect mainly the central nervous system and can be grouped into very frequent, frequent, occasional and rare side effects.

In addition, in the event that the patient experiences incidents with fever above 41°, severe muscle tension or respiratory problems, treatment should be discontinued 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. They are:

• Blurred vision.
• Urinary problems..
• Constipation.
• Mouth dryness.

Occasional

They only occur between 1 and 9% of the occasions that the patient consumes pipotiazine. These occasional effects are distinguished because there is a higher risk of occurrence only at the beginning of treatment. They include:

• Extrapyramidal symptomatologyParkinsonism, 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 starting treatment or up to months and years later.

• Agranulocytosis.
• Tardive dyskinesia.
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This can be fatal 15-20% of the time and is manifested by fever, muscle rigidity, akinesia, respiratory problems, photosensitivity and convulsions 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 organism systems, the patient should inform his physician of any special health condition he may have.

Likewise, there are numerous drugs such as anticholinergics or antidiabetics, among many others, which can interfere with each other and cause can interfere with each other and can cause serious adverse reactions in the person in the person who consumes this medicine, so it is necessary to inform the doctor.

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

Pregnancy and lactation

Although animal studies have not revealed any adverse teratogenic effects, i.e. the administration of pipothiazine in pregnant females has not caused malformations in the fetus. It is known that phenothiazines can cross the placenta.It is known that phenothiazines can cross the placenta, so only occasional use and in very low doses is recommended in pregnant women.

The administration of this drug 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 lactation, it is not known whether pipothiazine can be excreted in breast milk. However, studies with other phenothiazines establish that it can but that the effects on the infant are still unknown.

However, since these effects may be considerable, administration of this drug is not recommended. the administration of this drug to nursing mothers is not recommended..

Children and the elderly

Both children and elderly patients in whom the administration of pipotiazine is necessary are much more susceptible to unwanted side effects, are much more susceptible to undesirable side effects.. It is therefore advisable to closely monitor their state of health.

Driving and operating machines

Pipothiazine can cause alterations in reaction time, so it is recommended not to drive or operate any type of machine. it is recommended not to drive or operate any kind of machinery until the person knows exactly how this medication affects him/her.