Loxapine: Oral and Inhalant Treatment for Mood Disorders and Psychosis
Author: Richard "Cole" Daniels, PharmD, BCPS
(Click author's name for bio)
Richard "Cole" Daniels, PharmD, BCPS
Richard "Cole" Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the
Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018.
Throughout pharmacy school, he completed a 3-year internship at
Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained
valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a
psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has
over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings
including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a
diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease,
pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the
Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified
pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.
CE:
2
hours
Pharmacology: 2 hours
Rated 4.7 out of 5.0 based on 593 reviews
South Carolina Information
Pharmacotherapeutics Credits: 2
Related to prescribing controlled substances: 0
Course Summary
Loxapine is an antipsychotic that is used for the treatment of patients who have schizophrenia. It is known as a typical antipsychotic with a high-potency effect that is often used in lower doses and titrated to effect. Loxapine has low activity at histamine and muscarinic receptors so anticholinergic effects and sedation are less likely to occur, as compared to antipsychotics with a low-potency effect. Loxapine is not only effective for the treatment of symptoms of schizophrenia but also in cases of bipolar disorder, and for major depressive disorder. Clinicians should aim for a therapeutic dose when prescribing loxapine through routine follow-ups and drug monitoring.
Course Format
Homestudy
Course Syllabus
- Introduction
- Pharmacological Profile
- Labeled Uses, Dosing, and Forms
- Dosing Adjustments: Geriatric, Hepatic, Renal
- US Boxed Warning, Contraindications, and Adverse Events
- Common Precautions
- Anticholinergic Effects
- Orthostatic Hypotension
- Cardiac and Sudden Death
- Central Nervous System
- Falls
- Gastrointestinal
- Hematologic
- Thermoregulation
- Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
- Ophthalmic
- Prolactin Levels
- Seizure Disorder
- Pulmonary
- Venous Thromboembolism
- Withdrawal/Discontinuation
- Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
- Drug-Drug Interactions and Overdose
- Case Study: Loxapine
- Summary