Safeness and effectiveness of parenteral Chlorpromazine as an activation procedure of partial seizure disorders in adulthood

We compared parenteral (i.m.) chlorpromazine (CLP: 0.5-0.7 mg/Kg) vs sleep deprivation (SD) in activating EEG in 36 adult patients suffering from partial epilepsies and in 18 controls. Twenty-one of 36 patients (TPts) were treated with CBZ, PB or VPA, the remaining 15 patients (NTPts) were not yet treated because of the recent onset of epilepsy. CLP failed to provoke seizures in all subjects. Activation of EEG was achieved in 47.2% and 52.8% of patients by CLP and SD, respectively. Both procedures (CLP and SD) failed to activate the EEG in the control group. CLP provoked important and disabilitating side effects (general malaise, nausea, postural hypotension) lasting 1 to 4 hours in 89%, 87% and 9.5% of control, NTPts and TPts groups, respectively. We don't recommend the use of parenteral CLP as activation procedure, namely in patients not yet treated because of recent onset of seizure disorders.