From the FDA Drug Label
Dystonic symptoms include: spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to tightness of the throat, swallowing difficulty, difficulty breathing, and/or protrusion of the tongue. The incidence of reported EPS (which included the adverse reaction terms extrapyramidal syndrome, hypertonia, dystonia, dyskinesia, hypokinesia, tremor, paralysis and twitching) for ziprasidone-treated patients in the short-term, placebo-controlled schizophrenia trials was 14% vs. 8% for placebo *Extrapyramidal Symptoms includes the following adverse reaction terms: extrapyramidal syndrome, hypertonia, dystonia, dyskinesia, hypokinesia, tremor, paralysis and twitching
Yes, Geodon (Ziprasidone) can cause dystonic reactions.
- The drug label reports that dystonic symptoms can occur, particularly in males and younger age groups.
- The incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms, which includes dystonia, was 14% in ziprasidone-treated patients compared to 8% in placebo-treated patients in short-term, placebo-controlled schizophrenia trials 1.
- Dystonia is listed as one of the adverse reaction terms under Extrapyramidal Symptoms, which occurred in ziprasidone-treated patients 1.
From the Research
Dystonic Reactions and Geodon (Ziprasidone)
- Geodon (Ziprasidone) has been associated with dystonic reactions in some cases, as reported in the literature 2, 3, 4.
- A case report published in 2006 described a patient who developed acute dystonia after initial doses of ziprasidone 2.
- Another case report published in 2007 described a patient who experienced high-dose ziprasidone-induced acute dystonia, despite not having any extrapyramidal symptoms at lower doses 3.
- Tardive laryngeal dystonia, a rare form of dystonic syndrome, has also been reported in a patient taking ziprasidone 4.
- However, it's worth noting that ziprasidone is generally considered to have a lower risk of extrapyramidal symptoms compared to typical antipsychotics, and some studies have reported a lower incidence of movement disorders with ziprasidone IM compared to haloperidol IM 5.
- The risk of dystonic reactions with ziprasidone may be dose-related, with higher doses potentially increasing the risk of extrapyramidal symptoms 3, 6.