Droperidol is a medication used to manage nausea and vomiting due to surgical or medical procedures. It's available as an injection that you administer to yourself as your doctor prescribes. Do not inject more droperidol than instructed, or serious side effects can occur.
Common Side Effects
Droperidol can affect your attention and cause drowsiness. Avoid participating in events that require your complete attention, such as driving, until you know how drowsy and inattentive you become. Other common side effects include tachycardia (fast heartbeat) and lightheadedness, says Drugs.com. It can also cause restlessness, anxiousness, hyperactivity and hypotension (low blood pressure), says the National Library of Medicine. Notify your doctor if these side effects bother you.
Rare and Serious Side Effects
According to Drugs.com, you may seldom develop such serious symptoms as fever, fainting spells, an arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) and bradycardia (slow heartbeat). It can also cause your eyes to be fixed in an upward gaze. Other rare side effects include muscle spasms of your neck, face, tongue or back. The National Library of Medicine warns that droperidol can cause a potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms such as torsades de pointes and QT interval prolongation. Your heart is an important muscle intertwined with a complicated electrical conduction system. Sometimes, medications such as droperidol interfere with this conduction system and cause your heart muscle to beat in an irregular fashion. Droperidol can also cause cardiac arrest (heart stops beating), hallucinations, dizziness, bronchospasm (a condition in which your airways suddenly tighten) and even death. Call 911 when you or someone you know experiences any of these potentially lethal symptoms.
Additional Concerns
Avoid droperidol if you have a history of QT prolongation (abnormal heart conduction disorder in which certain components of your heart rhythm last longer than usual), warns Drugs.com. Droperidol can exarbate this dangerous heart rhythm.
Avoid droperidol if you're allergic to it. Harmful side effects include hives, trouble breathing, and swelling of your face, tongue or throat.
You should not use droperidol if you suffer from pheochromocytoma (a condition in which you have an adrenaline-producing tumor above your kidneys). You may experience tachycardia (fast heart rate) or hypertension (high blood pressure), says the National Library of Medicine.
Do not take medications that cause QT prolongation. Talk to your doctor to find out if your current medications carry this side effect. Combining those medications with droperidol can lead to cardiac arrest.
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