Perphenazine — $0 on Listed Strengths

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About Perphenazine

Perphenazine is a crucial medication primarily used to manage severe mental health conditions like schizophrenia, as well as severe nausea and vomiting. Understanding its purpose is key to effective treatment. At TheDrugClub, we believe essential medications should be accessible and affordable for everyone.

The information above is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult your healthcare provider before making medication decisions.

What Perphenazine is approved for (FDA label)

Perphenazine is indicated for use in the treatment of schizophrenia and for the control of severe nausea and vomiting in adults. Perphenazine has not been shown effective for the management of behavioral complications in patients with mental retardation.

Source: Read the full FDA label on DailyMed. Label effective date: August 27, 2026.

Excerpt from the FDA-approved prescribing information. This is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Boxed warning for Perphenazine (FDA label)

WARNING: Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis: Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. Analyses of seventeen placebo controlled trials (modal duration of 10 weeks), largely in patients taking atypical antipsychotic drugs, revealed a risk of death in drug-treated patients of between 1.6 to 1.7 times the risk of death in placebo-treated patients. Over the course of a typical 10- week controlled trial, the rate of death in drug-treated patients was about 4.5%, compared to a rate of about 2.6% in the placebo group. Although the causes of death were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g., pneumonia) in nature. Observational studies suggest that, similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs, treatment with conventional antipsychotic drugs may increase mortality. The extent to which the findings of increased mortality in observational studies may be attributed to the antipsychotic drug as opposed to some characteristic(s) of the patients is not clear. Perphenazine is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis (see WARNINGS ).

Source: FDA prescribing information (DailyMed). Set ID: c4150683-0772-4344-bb1c-f050b84175d6. SPL document ID: 5a0b359a-ab38-1cb2-e063-6294a90a7f43. Label effective date: August 27, 2026. Read the full label.

Excerpt from the FDA-approved prescribing information. This is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Adverse reactions for Perphenazine (FDA label)

Not all of the following adverse reactions have been reported with this specific drug; however, pharmacological similarities among various phenothiazine derivatives require that each be considered. With the piperazine group (of which perphenazine is an example), the extrapyramidal symptoms are more common, and others (e.g., sedative effects, jaundice, and blood dyscrasias) are less frequently seen. CNS Effects Extrapyramidal Reactions Opisthotonus, trismus, torticollis, retrocollis, aching and numbness of the limbs, motor restlessness, oculogyric crisis, hyperreflexia, dystonia, including protrusion, discoloration, aching and rounding of the tongue, tonic spasm of the masticatory muscles, tight feeling in the throat, slurred speech, dysphagia, akathisia, dyskinesia, parkinsonism, and ataxia.

Source: FDA prescribing information (DailyMed). Set ID: c4150683-0772-4344-bb1c-f050b84175d6. SPL document ID: 5a0b359a-ab38-1cb2-e063-6294a90a7f43. Label effective date: August 27, 2026. Read the full label.

Excerpt from the FDA-approved prescribing information. This is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Contraindications for Perphenazine (FDA label)

Perphenazine products are contraindicated in comatose or greatly obtunded patients and in patients receiving large doses of central nervous system depressants (barbiturates, alcohol, narcotics, analgesics, or antihistamines); in the presence of existing blood dyscrasias, bone marrow depression, or liver damage; and in patients who have shown hypersensitivity to perphenazine products, their components, or related compounds. Perphenazine products are also contraindicated in patients with suspected or established subcortical brain damage, with or without hypothalamic damage, since a hyperthermic reaction with temperatures in excess of 104°F may occur in such patients, sometimes not until 14 to 16 hours after drug administration. Total body ice-packing is recommended for such a reaction; antipyretics may also be useful.

Source: FDA prescribing information (DailyMed). Set ID: c4150683-0772-4344-bb1c-f050b84175d6. SPL document ID: 5a0b359a-ab38-1cb2-e063-6294a90a7f43. Label effective date: August 27, 2026. Read the full label.

Excerpt from the FDA-approved prescribing information. This is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Drug interactions for Perphenazine (FDA label)

Metabolism of a number of medications, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, ß-blockers, and antiarrhythmics, occurs through the cytochrome P450 2D6 isoenzyme (debrisoquine hydroxylase). Approximately 10% of the Caucasian population has reduced activity of this enzyme, so-called “poor” metabolizers. Among other populations the prevalence is not known. Poor metabolizers demonstrate higher plasma concentrations of antipsychotic drugs at usual doses, which may correlate with emergence of side effects. In one study of 45 elderly patients suffering from dementia treated with perphenazine, the 5 patients who were prospectively identified as poor P450 2D6 metabolizers had reported significantly greater side effects during the first 10 days of treatment than the 40 extensive metabolizers, following which the groups tended to converge. Prospective phenotyping of elderly patients prior to antipsychotic treatment may identify those at risk for adverse events.

Source: FDA prescribing information (DailyMed). Set ID: c4150683-0772-4344-bb1c-f050b84175d6. SPL document ID: 5a0b359a-ab38-1cb2-e063-6294a90a7f43. Label effective date: August 27, 2026. Read the full label.

Excerpt from the FDA-approved prescribing information. This is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist.