Adverse reactions associated to antipsychotics use at the mental health unit of University Hospital in Neiva

Abstract

Psychiatric disorders are diseases that occur frequently in the world. In Colombia is estimated that 40% of the population may suffer from any of these, which will lead to increasing the use of antipsychotic drugs with its adverse reactions. In order to identify adverse reactions related to the administration of antipsychotic medications in patients hospitalized at the Mental Health Unit of University Hospital in Neiva, it was performed an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study of pharmacovigilance from February 8 to April 8, 2012. Twenty two (18%) out of 118 patients hospitalized at the Mental Health Unit, had a reaction to antipsychotic medication, documenting a total of 39 cases (33%) of adverse reactions, since some patients had more than one reaction. Haloperidol was the most common administered drug by 89.7% of cases, being the intramuscular route the most frequent one (83%), a dose of 5 mg (79.3%), showing 72.4% of adverse reactions during the first 3 days of administration. 77% of all cases of adverse reactions to drugs (ARDs) secondary to administration of antipsychotics correspond to the so-called extrapyramidal syndrome from which dystonia appeared by 49% of cases, mainly on face by 53% of cases, followed by sialorrhea by 10.3%. Implementation of strategies for monitoring and timely detection of ADRs in patients receiving antipsychotics, mainly intramuscular haloperidol could result in reduction of these and subsequent major complications.