Psychosis is a condition in which the patient loses touch with reality with delusions about circumstances, or hallucinations, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Patients infected with HIV may develop psychosis; patients with more weakened immune systems are at higher risk of developing psychosis, according to Drs. Edward Hammond and Glenn J. Treisman in a 2007 article in "Psychiatry Times." Psychosis in these patients has been associated with illegal drug use, underlying psychiatric problems, or untreated HIV infection. Antipsychotic medications can treat these symptoms.
Haloperidol
Low doses of haloperidol have been found effective in treating HIV-positive patients with psychosis, according to Robert A. Stern, Diana O. Perkins, and Dwight L. Evans in the textbook "Psychopharmacology -- The Fourth Generation of Progress." A conventional antipsychotic medication, haloperidol, brand name Haldol, limits the effects of dopamine in the brain, according to the Lundbeck Institute. Patients who take antipsychotics are at risk of developing a movement disorder with abnormal tongue movements and uncontrolled movement of the arms and legs, according to MayoClinic.com, but patients with HIV and psychosis who take low doses of Haldol do not develop this problem as often.
Phenothiazines
Phenothiazines are another class of conventional antipsychotic medication used to treat psychosis in these patients, according to TheBody.com. Medications from this class like chlorpromazine and thioridazine are less potent than other conventional antipsychotics, according to Medical-Library.org. These medications also carry a risk of movement disorders as well, according to MayoClinic.com. Chlorpromazine and thioridazine should be given in low doses to minimize the risk of side effects.
Atypical Antipsychotics
At low doses, the second generation of antipsychotics can also be effective in the treatment of psychosis with less risk of movement disorders, according to Hammond and Treisman. Examples of these medications are olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine, according to the Patient UK website. Physicians should watch out for any drug interactions between the antipsychotic medications and other antiretroviral medications.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Haloperidol (Oral Route)
- The Lundbeck Institute: The Mechanism of Action of First-Generation Neuroleptics (Haloperidol)
- Mayo Clinic: Phenothiazine (Oral Route, Parenteral Route, Rectal Route)
- TheBody.com: Psychoactive Drugs
- "Psychiatric Times;" HIV and Psychiatric Illness ; Edward Hammond, M.D., MPH and Glenn J. Treisman, M.D., Ph.D.; 2007.
