levomepromazine levomepromazine levomepromazine, also known as methotrimeprazine, is a phenothiazine neuroleptic drug. brand names include nozinan, levoprome, detenler, hirnamin, levotomin and neurocil. it is a low-potency antipsychotic (approximately half as potent as chlorpromazine) with strong analgesic, hypnotic and antiemetic properties that are primarily used in palliative care. levomepromazineclinical dataahfs/drugs.commicromedex detailed consumer informationpregnancycategory only if clearly needed routes ofadministrationoral, seldom imdrug classtypical antipsychoticatc coden05aa02 (who) legal statuslegal status au: s4 (prescription only) uk: pom (prescription only) pharmacokinetic databioavailability~50–60%metabolismhepaticelimination half-life~20 hoursexcretionin feces and urine (metabolites), unchanged drug only 1%identifiers iupac name (2r)-3-(2-methoxyphenothiazine-10-yl-)-n,n,2-trimethylpropanamine cas number60-99-1 y 7104-38-3 (maleate), 1236-99-3 hcl)pubchem cid72287iuphar/bps7603drugbankdb01403 nchemspider65239 yunii9g0law7atqkeggd00403 ychebichebi:6838 nchemblchembl1764 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid1023289 echa infocard100.000.450 chemical and physical dataformulac19h24n2osmolar mass328.47 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles o(c2cc1n(c3c(sc1cc2)cccc3)c(c)cn(c)c)c inchi inchi=1s/c19h24n2os/c1-14(12-20(2)3)13-21-16-7-5-6-8-18(16)23-19-10-9-15(22-4)11-17(19)21/h5-11,14h,12-13h2,1-4h3/t14-/m1/s1 ykey:vrqvvmdwggwhtj-cqszacivsa-n y ny (what is this?) (verify) serious side effects include tardive dyskinesia, akathisia, abnormalities in the electrical cycle of the heart, low blood pressure and the potentially fatal neuroleptic malignant syndrome. as is typical of phenothiazine antipsychotics, levomepromazine is a "dirty drug", that is, it exerts its effects by blocking a variety of receptors, including adrenergic receptors, dopamine receptors, histamine receptors, muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and serotonin receptors. medical uses it can be used as an analgesic for moderate to severe pain in non-ambulant patients (the latter being because of its strong sedative effects). levomepromazine is also used at lower doses for the treatment of nausea and insomnia. levomepromazine is frequently prescribed and valued worldwide in palliative care medicine for its multimodal action, to treat intractable nausea or vomiting, and for severe delirium/agitation in the last days of life. palliative care physicians will commonly prescribe it orally or via subcutaneous syringe drivers in combination with opioid analgesics such as hydromorphone. levomepromazine is used for the treatment of psychosis, particularly those of schizophrenia, and manic phases of bipolar disorder. it should only be used with caution in the treatment of agitated depressions, as it can cause akathisia as a side effect, which could worsen the agitation. a 2010 systematic review compared the efficacy of levomepromazine with atypical antipsychotic drugs: levomepromazine versus atypical antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia summary data are few and not high quality making it impossible to be confident about the effects for schizophrenia. outcome findings in words findings in numbers quality of evidence global state not much improved (cgi)follow-up: short-termlevomepromazine may increase the risk of not seeing an improvement when compared with atypical antipsychotic drugs, but, at present there are only very limited data supporting this finding.rr 2.33 (1.11 to 4.89)very low mental state any response (<20% decrease panssfollow-up: short-termat present it is not possible to be confident about the difference between people given levomepromazine and those receiving atypical antipsychotic drugs. there is very limited data to support this finding. rr 2.5 (0.93 to 6.72)very low adverse events constipationlevomepromazine may slightly reduce the risk of constipation but there is no clear difference between people given levomepromazine and those receiving atypical antipsychotics. these findings are based on data of low quality.rr 0.45 (0.07 to 2.94)low dizzinesslevomepromazine may increase the chance of experiencing dizziness when compared with atypical antipsychotic drugs. data are based on low quality evidence. rr 2.59 (1.23 to 5.46)low drowsinessthere is no clear difference for the outcome of 'drowsiness' between people given levomepromazine and those receiving atypical antipsychotic drugs. these findings are based on data of low quality. rr 0.62 (0.29 to 1.32)low dry mouthdry mouth is no more or less common with levomepromazine compared with those receiving atypical antipsychotic drugs. these findings are based on data of low quality. rr 0.93 (0.45 to 1.95)low extrapyramidal symptoms - needing antiparkinsonian medicationlevomepromazine may reduce the risk of movement disorders but, with current data, there is no clear difference between people given levomepromazine and those receiving atypical antipsychotic drugs. these findings are based on data of very limited quality. rr 0.6 (0.16 to 2.2)very low adverse effects the most common side effect is akathisia. levomepromazine has prominent sedative and anticholinergic/sympatholytic effects (dry mouth, hypotension, sinus tachycardia, night sweats) and may cause weight gain. these side effects normally preclude prescribing the drug in doses needed for full remission of schizophrenia, so it has to be combined with a more potent antipsychotic. in any case, blood pressure and ekg should be monitored regularly. a rare but life-threatening side effect is neuroleptic malignant syndrome (nms). the symptoms of nms include muscle stiffness, convulsions and fever. history the drug (under the name nozinan) started clinical trials in france in 1956 and was studied in canada 3 years later.