Akathisia

Akathisia:

🔑In Greek means, “inability to sit”
🔑It is characterized by state of inner restlessness and shifting of weight. Hightened lower limb movements are quite characteristic
🔑It is an acute extrapyramidal symtom which typically is seen within 7-10 days of initiation of the antipsychotic
🔑Most common extrapyramidal side effect after starting an antpsychotic
🔑First generation older antipsychotics have higher chance of producing Akathisia compared to second generation antipsychotics
🔑Among the second generation antipsychotics, Clozapine has the least and Aripiprazole has the highest chance of causing Akathisia
🔑Management of Akathisia is:
💊If possible, the first step is to decrease the dose of antipsychotic
💊The commonly used drugs are Propranolol(most preferable), Benzodiazepines and Anticholinergics(least preferable)