MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Compazine overdose

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Compazine overdose

Contents of this page:
Definition Poisonous Ingredient Where Found Symptoms	Before Calling Emergency Poison Control What to Expect at the Emergency Room Outlook (Prognosis)

Definition

Compazine overdose is poisoning from swallowing a large amount of prochlorperazine (Compazine), a drug used to treat severe nausea and vomiting.

Poisonous Ingredient

Prochlorperazine

Where Found

Buccastem
Compazine
Spansule
Stemetil

Symptoms

Whole body
- Hypothermia (body temperature is lower than normal)
- Fever
Bladder and kidneys
- Inability to completely empty the bladder
Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and throat
- Nasal congestion
- Blurred vision
- Yellow eyes
- Drooling
- Dry mouth
Muscles and joints
- Muscle spasms
- Stiff muscles in neck, face, or back
Skin
- Rash
- Yellow skin
Gastrointestinal
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty swallowing
Heart and blood
- Low blood pressure (severe)
- Rapid heartbeat
- Convulsions
Nervous system
- Drowsiness
- Coma
- Disorientation
- Tremor
- Uncoordined movement
- Weakness
Reproductive system
- Changes in menstrual patterns

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
When it was swallowed
The amount swallowed
If the medication was prescribed for the patient

Poison Control

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. The patient may receive:

Medicines to treat symptoms
Medicines to make the person throw up
Activated charcoal
Laxative
Fluids
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)

Outlook (Prognosis)

Recovery depends on the damage done by the overdose. Survival past 2 days is usually a good sign.

Update Date: 4/4/2006

Updated by: Janeen R. Azare, PhD, MSPH, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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