Fluphenazine Decanoate (3 brand names, 1 dosage form, 1 route)
Available dosage forms: INJECTABLE.
Routes of administration: INJECTION.
Brand Names
- FLUPHENAZINE
- FLUPHENAZINE DECANOATE
- PROLIXIN DECANOATE
Boxed Warning
Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis — Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. Analyses of seventeen placebo-controlled trials (modal duration of 10 weeks), largely in patients taking atypical antipsychotic drugs, revealed a risk of death in drug treated patients of between 1.6 to 1.7 times the risk of death in placebo-treated patients. Over the course of a typical 10-week controlled trial, the rate of death in drug-treated patients was about 4.5%, compared to a rate of about 2.6% in the placebo group. Although the causes of death were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g., pneumonia) in nature. Observational studies suggest that, similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs, treatment with conventional antipsychotic drugs may increase mortality. The extent to which the findings of increased mortality in observational studies may be attributed to the antipsychotic drug as opposed to some characteristic(s) of the patients is not clear. Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis (see WARNINGS).
Indications and Usage
Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection is a long-acting parenteral antipsychotic drug intended for use in the management of patients requiring prolonged parenteral neuroleptic therapy (e.g., chronic schizophrenics). Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection has not been shown effective in the management of behavioral complications in patients with mental retardation.
Dosage and Administration
Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection may be given intramuscularly or subcutaneously. A dry syringe and needle of at least 21 gauge should be used. Use of a wet needle or syringe may cause the solution to become cloudy. To begin therapy with Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection, the following regimens are suggested: For most patients, a dose of 12.5 to 25 mg (0.5 to 1 mL) may be given to initiate therapy. The onset of action generally appears between 24 and 72 hours after injection and the effects of the drug on psychotic symptoms becomes significant within 48 to 96 hours. Subsequent injections and the dosage interval are determined in accordance with the patient’s response. When administered as maintenance therapy, a single injection may be effective in controlling schizophrenic symptoms up to four weeks or longer. The response to a single dose has been found to last as long as six weeks in a few patients on maintenance therapy. It may be advisable that patients who have no history of taking phenothiazines should be treated initially with a shorter-acting form of fluphenazine before administering the decanoate to determine the patient’s response to fluphenazine and to establish appropriate dosage. For psychotic patients who have been stabilized on a fixed daily dosage of Fluphenazine Hydrochloride Tablets or Fluphenazine Hydrochloride Elixir conversion of therapy from these short-acting oral forms to the long-acting Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection may be indicated. Appropriate dosage of Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection should be individualized for each patient and responses carefully monitored. No precise formula can be given to convert to use of Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection; however, a controlled multicentered study,* in patients receiving oral doses from 5 to 60 mg fluphenazine hydrochloride daily, showed that 20 mg fluphenazine hydrochloride daily was equivalent to 25 mg (1 mL) of Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection every three weeks. This represents an approximate con
Contraindications
Phenothiazines are contraindicated in patients with suspected or established subcortical brain damage. Phenothiazine compounds should not be used in patients receiving large doses of hypnotics. Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection is contraindicated in comatose or severely depressed states. The presence of blood dyscrasia or liver damage precludes the use of fluphenazine decanoate. Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection is not intended for use in children under 12 years of age. Fluphenazine Decanoate Injection is contraindicated in patients who have shown hypersensitivity to fluphenazine; cross-sensitivity to phenothiazine derivatives may occur.
Adverse Reactions
Central Nervous System The side effects most frequently reported with phenothiazine compounds are extrapyramidal symptoms including pseudoparkinsonism, dystonia, dyskinesia, akathisia, oculogyric crises, opisthotonos, and hyperreflexia. Muscle rigidity sometimes accompanied by hyperthermia has been reported following use of fluphenazine decanoate. Most often these extrapyramidal symptoms are reversible; however, they may be persistent (see below). The frequency of such reactions is related in part to chemical structure: one can expect a higher incidence with fluphenazine decanoate than with less potent piperazine derivatives or with straight-chain phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine. With any given phenothiazine derivative, the incidence and severity of such reactions depend more on individual patient sensitivity than on other factors, but dosage level and patient age are also determinants. Extrapyramidal reactions may be alarming, and the patient should be forewarned and reassured. These reactions can usually be controlled by administration of antiparkinsonian drugs such as Benztropine Mesylate or Intravenous Caffeine and Sodium Benzoate Injection, and by subsequent reduction in dosage. Tardive Dyskinesia See WARNINGS. The syndrome is characterized by involuntary choreoathetoid movements which variously involve the tongue, face, mouth, lips, or jaw (e.g., protrusion of the tongue, puffing of cheeks, puckering of the mouth, chewing movements), trunk and extremities. The severity of the syndrome and the degree of impairment produced vary widely. The syndrome may become clinically recognizable either during treatment, upon dosage reduction, or upon withdrawal of treatment. Early detection of tardive dyskinesia is important. To increase the likelihood of detecting the syndrome at the earliest possible time, the dosage of the neuroleptic drug should be reduced periodically (if clinically possible) and the patient observed for signs of the disorder. This maneuver is cr