Indications: schizophrenia and related psychoses, particularly mania; tranquillization and emergency control in behavioral disturbances; short-term adjunctive treatment of severe anxiety; motor tics, hiccups.

Cautions: thyrotoxic patients, basal ganglia disease; subarachnoid haemorrhage and metabolic disturbances such as hypokalaemia, hypocalcaemia, or hypomagnesaemia hepatic impairment, renal impairment, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease (may be exacerbated by antipsychotics), epilepsy (and conditions predisposing to epilepsy), depression, myasthenia gravis, prostatic hypertrophy, or a susceptibility to angle-closure glaucoma; severe respiratory disease and in patients with a history of jaundice; elderly, who are particularly susceptible to postural hypotension and to hyper- or hypothermia in very hot or cold weather; thyrotoxic patients, basal ganglia disease; subarachnoid haemorrhage and metabolic disturbances such as hypokalaemia, hypocalcaemia, or hypomagnesaemia.

Contra-indications: comatose states, CNS depression, and phaeochromocytoma, pregnancy (unless essential); breast-feeding during treatment.

Side Effects: extra pyramidal symptoms consisting dystonia & akathesia particularly in thyrotoxic patients. Rarely weight loss, hypoglycaemia, inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.

Dose: schizophrenia, psychoses mania, short term management of psychomotor agitation, excitement, and violent or dangerously impulsive behavior, initially 1.5-3 mg 2-3 times daily.

Severly affected or resistant patients, 3-5 mg 2-3 times daily.

Resistant schizophrenia, up to 30 mg daily; then adjusted according to response to lowest maintenance dose as low as 5-10 mg daily.

Elderly or debilitated patients, initially half adult dose. Child, initially 25-50 mcg/kg daily in 2 divided doses to max. of 10 mg.

Severe anxiety, adults, 500 mcg twice daily. Child not recommended.

By IM or IV injection, 2-10 mg, subsequent doses being given every 4-8 hours, according to response (up to every hour if necessary) to max. 60 mg.

Severely disturbed patients may require initial dose up to 18 mg.

Child not recommended.

Intractable hiccup – 1.5 mg 3 times daily.

Nausea and vomiting, 0.5-2 mg by IM or IV injection; 1 mg 3 times daily orally.