Priapism following acute overdose of perphenazine: a case report

Abstract

Ischemic priapism is a rare event, but represents a medical emergency requiring aggressive treatment. While clinicians associate priapism with phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors, antipsychotics and α adrenergic antagonists represent a higher number of cases. We present the case of a 52-year-old male who experienced an episode of ischemic priapism secondary to acute overdose of perphenazine. We were unable to locate any prior case of priapism associated with acute perphenazine overdose in the literature. When managing a patient with acute overdose of a first-generation antipsychotic with α-blocking effects such as perphenazine, clinicians should consider this uncommon but serious complication.

Keywords:

• Perphenazine
• priapism
• overdose
• antipsychotic
• case report

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.