Crushing deutetrabenazine for treatment of tardive dyskinesia in a patient with severe orofacial symptoms: A case report.

Jon P Wietholter, Jenna Sizemore, Kara Piechowski

American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020 Sep 04

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Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a hyperkinetic movement disorder that results from exposure to dopamine receptor antagonists and/or first- and second-generation antipsychotics. While cessation of the offending agent(s) through early detection is recommended, TD symptoms may be irreversible and require further treatment. Deutetrabenazine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of persistent TD. Irreversible orofacial dyskinesia, a common affliction in TD, can progress to severe oropharyngeal dysphagia requiring alternate means of nutrition and medication delivery. Enteral administration of crushed deutetrabenazine has not been studied, and its use to treat TD in patients who cannot take medications by mouth has not been reported previously. A 38-year-old female patient with a history of bipolar I disorder and TD secondary to atypical antipsychotic exposure developed worsening athetosis, hyperkinesia, and severe orofacial dyskinesia after initiation of ziprasidone. The patient had no improvement after discontinuation of atypical antipsychotics and required percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement for nutrition due to persistent aspiration and inability to tolerate oral nutrition. Despite a lack of information regarding administration of crushed deutetrabenazine tablets via PEG, that form of therapy was initiated and resulted in improvement of TD symptoms without noticeable adverse effects. TD can result in significant orofacial dyskinesia with impaired delivery of needed medications and nutrition. We describe a case in which a patient with severe TD and orofacial dyskinesia experienced improvement of symptoms with use of crushed deutetrabenazine. Larger studies to further evaluate use of crushed deutetrabenazine for treatment of TD are needed. © American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Citation

Jon P Wietholter, Jenna Sizemore, Kara Piechowski. Crushing deutetrabenazine for treatment of tardive dyskinesia in a patient with severe orofacial symptoms: A case report. American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 2020 Sep 04;77(18):1477-1481