Promethazine - NeuRA Library

Promethazine

What is promethazine?

Promethazine medications are a type of sedative, in the class of antihistamine drugs. One widely known commercial promethazine is Phenergan. They work on the central nervous system, resulting in a decrease in brain cell activity. Promethazine has been used in combination with antipsychotics in situations where benzodiazepines may not be used in order to evoke sedative effects.

What is the evidence for promethazine?

Moderate quality evidence suggests no benefits of adjunctive promethazine over adjunctive benzodiazepines for aggression, restraint, or a need for additional medication in people with acute psychosis. There were also no benefits for service use, hospital discharge, or study attrition. People receiving haloperidol plus promethazine may show greater immediate clinical improvement by 2 hours, but not by 4 hours post-treatment.

October 2020

Last updated at: 10:49 pm, 30th September 2020

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Fact Sheet Technical Commentary

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Title Colour Legend:
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.

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