Antiparkinsonian Agents and Depot Phenothiazine

To determine whether antiparkinsonian (AP) drugs should be regularly given prophylactically to all patients receiving depot antipsychotic drugs, the authors assigned 41 psychotic patients receiving fluphenazine enanthate to one of three groups. The first received only enough AP medication to control the occurrence of acute extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), the second received AP medication for five days after each injection of depot fluphenazine, and the third received the AP agent daily. There were no significant differences among the three groups in the number and intensity of EPS, although some subjects in the first group displayed gross EPS that were controlled. The authors conclude that the routine prophylactic use of AP drugs is questionable but that further research is necessary.