Clinical Indications and Toxicity of Prolonged Perphenazine Therapy

Abstract

CLINICAL experience with tranquilizers has shown the need for prolonged therapy for chronic neurotic and psychotic disorders. Since phenothiazine derivatives such as perphenazine are being employed in this manner and since there have been rare reports of jaundice and leukopenia associated with its administration, questions about a potential deleterious effect of this drug on the liver and blood have to be answered. For this reason, 50 patients who have taken perphenazine† for nineteen to thirty-four months had a complete laboratory survey consisting of hematologic examination, liver-function tests and urinalysis. The results of this laboratory evaluation and pertinent clinical observations are . . .