Course Summary

Perphenazine is a typical antipsychotic and a centrally acting dopamine D2 receptor antagonist with a labeled use to treat schizophrenia. It is also used to help allay symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Off-label, perphenazine is used to control agitation or psychosis caused by dementia, however clinicians are warned of the increased risk of death when using typical antipsychotics in elderly individuals. Use of perphenazine as with all first generation antipsychotics has been less preferred compared to second generation atypical antipsychotics that are associated with improved drug safety and tolerability. However, clinicians should also consider the longitudinal data associated with a clinical and therapeutic course of care in individual patients. Alongside a concern for drug safety and tolerance, antipsychotic drug treatment should also be tailored to individual patient symptoms and outcomes.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

• I.              Introduction
• II.           Pharmacological Profile
  • 1.         Drug Category
  • 2.         Mechanism of Action
  • 3.         Labeled Uses
  • 4.         Off-Label Uses
  • 5.         Dosing
  • 6.         Available Forms
  • 7.         Dosing Adjustment: Geriatric Patients
  • 8.         Dosing Adjustment: Hepatic Impairment
  • 9.         Dosing Adjustment: Renal Impairment
  • 10.     US Boxed Warning
  • 11.     Contraindications
  • 12.     Adverse Effects
  • 13.     Warnings and Precautions
  • 14.     Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
  • 15.     Drug-drug Interactions
• III.        Clinical Pearls: Perphenazine
• IV.         Perphenazine Overdose
• V.            Case Study: Perphenazine
  • 1.   Discussion
• VI.         Summary

Author

Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI

Dana Bartlett is a professional nurse and author. His clinical experience includes 16 years of ICU and ER experience and over 27 years as a poison control center information specialist. Dana has published numerous CE and journal articles, written NCLEX material, textbook chapters, and more than 100 online CE articles, and done editing and reviewing for publishers such as Elsevier, Lippincott, and Thieme. He has written widely on the subject of toxicology and was a contributing editor, toxicology section, for Critical Care Nurse journal. He is currently employed at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. He lives in Wappingers Falls, NY.