Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:993-996
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Efficacy of anticholinergic prophylaxis for neuroleptic-induced acute dystonia
GW Arana, DC Goff, RJ Baldessarini and GA Keepers
Department of Psychiatry, University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
The authors analyzed data from nine studies comparing the incidence of
acute dystonia induced by neuroleptic agents with and without concomitant
use of anticholinergic agents. Anticholinergic agents reduced the rate of
dystonia by 1.9-fold in all patients treated with different neuroleptics
and by 5- to 8-fold in patients treated with high-potency neuroleptics. In
addition, the incidence of dystonia and the efficacy of anticholinergic
prophylaxis were related inversely to age. These results support the
efficacy of anticholinergic agents in preventing neuroleptic-induced
dystonia, particularly in young male patients treated with high-potency
neuroleptics.
