ZIPRASIDONE HCL (ziprasidone hcl)


Drug overview for ZIPRASIDONE HCL (ziprasidone hcl):

Generic name: ZIPRASIDONE HCL (zi-PRAS-i-done)
Drug class: Antipsychotics
Therapeutic class: Central Nervous System Agents

Ziprasidone has been referred to as an atypical or second-generation antipsychotic agent.

Ziprasidone hydrochloride is used orally for the treatment of schizophrenia, as monotherapy for the acute treatment of bipolar manic or mixed episodes, and as adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate for the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder. Ziprasidone mesylate is used IM for acute agitation in schizophrenic patients. When deciding among the alternative treatments available for the condition requiring treatment, clinicians should consider ziprasidone's greater capacity to prolong the QT or QTc (QT interval corrected for rate) interval compared with several other antipsychotic agents.

QTc-interval prolongation has been associated in some other drugs with the ability to cause torsades de pointes and sudden death. In many cases, this would lead clinicians to the conclusion that other drugs should be tried first. The manufacturer states that it is not yet known whether ziprasidone will cause torsades de pointes or increase the rate of sudden death.

In one large observational study (Ziprasidone Observational Study of Cardiac Outcomes (ZODIAC)), the incidence of nonsuicide mortality was not found to be higher in ziprasidone-treated patients compared with olanzapine-treated patients; however, the study design did not allow for evaluation of possible differences in the incidence of more uncommon outcomes, such as torsades de pointes and sudden death. (See Prolongation of QT Interval and Risk of Sudden Death under Warnings/Precautions: Other Warnings and Precautions, in Cautions.)
DRUG IMAGES
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The following indications for ZIPRASIDONE HCL (ziprasidone hcl) have been approved by the FDA:

Indications:
Bipolar disorder
Schizophrenia


Professional Synonyms:
Bipolar affective disorder
Bipolar affective illness
Bipolar mood disorder
Dementia praecox
Manic-depressive illness
Parergasia