ABSTRACT
Concerns about polypharmacy have grown with the rise of psychopharmacology. The risk of potential harm to the psychiatric patient seems most obvious in the use of neuroleptic drugs: short-term risks (orthostasis, poikilothermia, hyperprolactinemia, constipation, hesitancy, akathisia, early dystonia, arrhythmia, Parkinsonism, neuroleptic malignant syndrome) and long-term risks [tardive dyskinesia (TD), retinopathy, cognitive impairment, hepatopathy, light sensitivity/skin dyscoloration, parkinsonism] were soon noticed after the serendipitous discovery of the benefit of chlorpromazine in psychotic disorders (1). With the advent of other antipsychotic drugs, polypharmacy ensued based on clinicians wish to maximize benefits. Despite the fact that combining antipsychotic drugs was officially seen as increasing the risk of side effects, polypharmacy turned out to become more the rule than the exception (2).
