Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Abstract:
1. 1. A survey of 315 chronic inpatients for the presence of extrapyramidal side effects indicates that 58.7% of the patients had no evidence of extrapyramidal side effects, 28.6% had tardive dyskinesia (TD) alone, 8.9% had pseudoparkinsonism and 3.8% had a combination of both.
2. 2. Women seemed to exhibit more side effects.
3. 3. Aging was another factor associated with a higher risk for the appearance of extrapyramidal side effects.
4. 4. Affective disorder patients carried more risk than patients with schizophrenia.
5. 5. The low prevalence of the combined TD and pseudoparkinsonism may be related to several factors. The possible explanations are explored and discussed. These patients present a therapeutic dilemna.