The following is an excerpt....
BASICS
Description
- Life-threatening condition that may develop anytime during therapy with neuroleptics—from a few days to many years (but 2/3 of cases occur within the 1st week)
- Muscular rigidity from dopamine antagonism in the nigrostriatal pathway
- Hyperthermia due to blockage of hypothalamic thermoregulation (more likely in the setting of benzodiazepine withdrawal)
- Autonomic dysfunction
- May be indistinguishable from other causes of drug-induced hyperthermia (e.g., malignant hyperthermia, serotonin syndrome, anticholinergic toxins, or sympathomimetic poisoning)
Epidemiology
Incidence
- The incidence has been variably reported from prospective studies as 0.01–3.0% (1).
- 2,000 new cases annually in US (2)
- Predominant sex: Male > Female
- Predominant age: <40 years of age
Prevalence
0.15% ± 0.05% among patients receiving neuroleptics
Risk Factors
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