Compazine

• Generic Name: prochlorperazine
• Brand Name: Compazine

Compazine (Prochlorperazine) side effects drug center

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PROFESSIONAL

CONSUMER

SIDE EFFECTS

• Overview
• Professional Information

 

Compazine Side Effects Center

What Is Compazine?

Compazine (prochlorperazine) is a phenothiazine anti-psychotic used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Compazine (prochlorperazine) is also used to treat anxiety, and to control severe nausea and vomiting. The brand name Compazine is discontinued in the U.S. Generic versions may still be available.

What Are Side Effects of Compazine?

Common side effects of Compazine (prochlorperazine) include:

• dizziness,
• drowsiness,
• anxiety,
• sleep problems (insomnia),
• strange dreams,
• dry mouth,
• stuffy nose,
• blurred vision,
• constipation,
• breast swelling or discharge,
• missed menstrual periods,
• weight gain,
• swelling in hands or feet,
• impotence,
• trouble having an orgasm,
• mild itching,
• skin rash,
• headache, and
• low blood pressure (hypotension).

Dosage for Compazine?

Dosage of prochlorperazine is adjusted to the response of the individual. Begin with the lowest recommended dosage.

What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Compazine?

Prochlorperazine may interact with atropine, lithium, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics, birth control pills or hormone replacement estrogens, blood pressure medications, blood thinners, asthma medications, drugs to treat prostate disorders, incontinence medications, insulin or oral diabetes medications, medication for nausea, vomiting, or motion sickness, medications to treat or prevent malaria, medications used for general anesthesia, medicines used to prevent organ transplant rejection, numbing medicine, stimulants, ADHD medication, ulcer or irritable bowel medications, medicines to treat Parkinson's disease, restless leg syndrome, or pituitary gland tumor. Many other medicines can interact with prochlorperazine. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Compazine During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

During pregnancy, prochlorperazine should be used only if prescribed. It may cause side effects in a newborn if the mother takes the medication during pregnancy. This medication can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.

Additional Information

Our Compazine (prochlorperazine) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.

 

Compazine Consumer Information

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

High doses or long-term use of prochlorperazine can cause a serious movement disorder that may not be reversible. The longer you use prochlorperazine, the more likely you are to develop this disorder, especially if you are a woman or an older adult.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• uncontrolled muscle movements in your arms and legs, or your face (chewing, lip smacking, frowning, tongue movement, blinking or eye movement);
• trouble speaking or swallowing, stiffness or muscle spasms in your neck;
• tremors, or any new or unusual muscle movements you cannot control;
• extreme drowsiness or light-headed feeling (like you might pass out);
• little or no urination;
• agitation, restlessness;
• severe constipation, stomach pain, bloating;
• jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• low blood cell counts--fever, chills, sore throat, cough, trouble breathing, mouth sores, skin sores, pale skin, easy bruising or bleeding;
• lupus-like symptoms--muscle or joint pain, flu symptoms, chest pain, and a rash or patchy skin color that worsens in sunlight; or
• severe nervous system reaction--very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeats.

Side effects such as dry mouth, constipation, confusion, and tremors may be more likely in older adults.

Common side effects may include:

• headache, dizziness, drowsiness;
• dry mouth, stuffy nose;
• nausea, constipation;
• increased appetite, weight gain;
• blurred vision;
• agitation, feeling jittery, trouble sleeping;
• skin redness, itching, or rash;
• missed menstrual periods; or
• impotence, abnormal ejaculation.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Compazine (Prochlorperazine)

 

Compazine Professional Information

SIDE EFFECTS

Drowsiness, dizziness, amenorrhea, blurred vision, skin reactions and hypotension may occur. Cholestatic jaundice has occurred. If fever with grippe-like symptoms occurs, appropriate liver studies should be conducted. If tests indicate an abnormality, stop treatment. There have been a few observations of fatty changes in the livers of patients who have died while receiving the drug. No causal relationship has been established.

Leukopenia and agranulocytosis have occurred. Warn patients to report the sudden appearance of sore throat or other signs of infection. If white blood cell and differential counts indicate leukocyte depression, stop treatment and start antibiotic and other suit- able therapy.

Neuromuscular (Extrapyramidal) Reactions

These symptoms are seen in a significant number of hospitalized mental patients. They may be characterized by motor restlessness, be of the dystonic type, or they may resemble parkinsonism. Depending on the severity of symptoms, dosage should be reduced or discontinued. If therapy is reinstituted, it should be at a lower dosage. Should these symptoms occur in children or pregnant patients, the drug should be stopped and not reinstituted. In most cases barbiturates by suitable route of administration will suffice. (Or, injectable diphenhydramine may be useful.) In more severe cases, the administration of an anti-parkinsonism agent, except levodopa (see PDR), usually produces rapid reversal of symptoms. Suitable supportive measures such as maintaining a clear airway and adequate hydration should be employed.

Motor Restlessness

Symptoms may include agitation or jitteriness and sometimes insomnia. These symptoms often disappear spontaneously. At times these symptoms may be similar to the original neurotic or psychotic symptoms. Dosage should not be increased until these side effects have subsided. If these symptoms become too troublesome, they can usually be controlled by a reduction of dosage or change of drug. Treatment with anti-parkinsonian agents, benzodiazepines or propranolol may be helpful.

Dystonia

Class Effect

Symptoms of dystonia, prolonged abnormal contractions of muscle groups, may occur in susceptible individuals during the first few days of treatment.

Dystonic symptoms include: spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to tightness of the throat, swallowing difficulty, difficulty breathing, and/or protrusion of the tongue. While these symptoms can occur at low doses, they occur more frequently and with greater severity with high potency and at higher doses of first generation antipsychotic drugs. An elevated risk of acute dystonia is observed in males and younger age groups.

Pseudo-parkinsonism

Symptoms may include: mask-like facies; drooling; tremors; pillrolling motion; cogwheel rigidity; and shuffling gait. Reassurance and sedation are important. In most cases these symptoms are readily controlled when an anti-parkinson- ism agent is administered concomitantly. Antiparkinsonism agents should be used only when required. Generally, therapy of a few weeks to 2 or 3 months will suffice. After this time patients should be evaluated to determine their need for continued treatment. (Note: Levodopa has not been found effective in pseudo-parkinsonism.) Occasionally it is nec- essary to lower the dosage of prochlorperazine or to discontinue the drug.

Tardive Dyskinesia

As with all antipsychotic agents, tardive dyskinesia may appear in some patients on long-term therapy or may appear after drug therapy has been discontinued. The syndrome can also develop, although much less frequently, after relatively brief treatment periods at low doses. This syndrome appears in all age groups. Although its prevalence appears to be highest among elderly patients, especially elderly women, it is impossible to rely upon prevalence estimates to predict at the inception of neuroleptic treatment which patients are likely to develop the syndrome. The symptoms are persis- tent and in some patients appear to be irreversible. The syndrome is characterized by rhythmical involuntary movements of the tongue, face, mouth or jaw (e.g., protrusion of tongue, puffing of cheeks, puckering of mouth, chewing movements). Sometimes these may be accompanied by involuntary movements of extremities. In rare instances, these involuntary movements of the extremities are the only manifestations of tardive dyskinesia. A variant of tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia, has also been described.

There is no known effective treatment for tardive dyskinesia; anti-parkinsonism agents do not alleviate the symptoms of this syndrome. It is suggested that all antipsychotic agents be discontinued if these symptoms appear.

Should it be necessary to reinstitute treatment, or increase the dosage of the agent, or switch to a different antipsychotic agent, the syndrome may be masked.

It has been reported that fine vermicular movements of the tongue may be an early sign of the syndrome and if the medication is stopped at that time the syndrome may not develop.

Adverse Reactions Reported With Prochlorperazine Or Other Phenothiazine Derivatives

Adverse reactions with different phenothiazines vary in type, frequency and mechanism of occurrence, i.e., some are dose-related, while others involve individual patient sensitivity. Some adverse reactions may be more likely to occur, or occur with greater intensity, in patients with special medical problems, e.g., patients with mitral insufficiency or pheochromocytoma have experienced severe hypotension following recommended doses of certain phenothiazines.

Not all of the following adverse reactions have been observed with every phenothiazine derivative, but they have been reported with 1 or more and should be borne in mind when drugs of this class are administered: extrapyramidal symptoms (opisthotonos, oculogyric crisis, hyperreflexia, dystonia, akathisia, dyskinesia, parkinsonism) some of which have lasted months and even years- particularly in elderly patients with previous brain damage; grand mal and petit mal convulsions, particularly in patients with EEG abnormalities or history of such disorders; altered cerebrospinal fluid proteins; cerebral edema; intensification and prolongation of the action of central nervous system depressants (opiates, analgesics, antihistamines, barbiturates, alcohol), atropine, heat, organophosphorus insecticides; autonomic reactions (dryness of the mouth, nasal congestion, headache, nausea, constipation, obstipation, adynamic ileus, ejaculatory disorders/impotence, priapism, atonic colon, urinary retention, miosis and mydriasis); reactivation of psychotic processes, catatonic-like states; hypotension (sometimes fatal); cardiac arrest; blood dyscrasias (pancytopenia, thrombocytopenic purpura, leukopenia, agranulocytosis, eosinophilia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia); liver damage (jaundice, biliary stasis); endocrine disturbances (hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, glycosuria, lactation, galactorrhea, gynecomastia, menstrual irregularities, false-positive pregnancy tests); skin disorders (photosensitivity, itching, erythema, urticaria, eczema up to exfoliative dermatitis); other allergic reactions (asthma, laryngeal edema, angioneurotic edema, anaphylactoid reactions); peripheral edema; reversed epinephrine effect; hyperpyrexia; mild fever after large I.M. doses; increased appetite; increased weight; a systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome; pigmentary retinopathy; with prolonged administration of substantial doses, skin pigmentation, epithelial keratopathy, and lenticular and corneal deposits.

EKG changes-particularly nonspecific, usually reversible Q and T wave distortions - have been observed in some patients receiving phenothiazine tranquilizers.

Although phenothiazines cause neither psychic nor physical dependence, sudden discontinuance in long-term psychiatric patients may cause temporary symptoms, e.g., nausea and vomiting, dizziness, tremulousness.

Note: There have been occasional reports of sudden death in patients receiving phenothiazines. In some cases, the cause appeared to be cardiac arrest or asphyxia due to failure of the cough reflex.

To Report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Perrigo at 1-800-328-5113, or the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Compazine (Prochlorperazine)

&Copy; Compazine Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Compazine Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.