Drug interactions
Pimozide + Tetrabenazine
Severity: Contraindicated
Pimozide and Tetrabenazine: contraindicated interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Both drugs prolong the QT interval, and tetrabenazine is also a dopamine-depleting agent with additive extrapyramidal and sedative effects. Together they increase the risk of torsades de pointes.
What this interaction means in plain words
Pimozide and Tetrabenazine are not normally used together. Taking them at the same time is expected to cause harm or make one of them unsafe, so a different medicine is usually chosen for one of the two.
Pimozide belongs to Central Nervous System; Tetrabenazine belongs to Central Nervous System.
Why it happens
Additive QT prolongation; additive dopaminergic blockade and depletion.
What to do
Avoid the combination. Consider alternative therapy for the movement disorder or tic indication, with ECG monitoring if there is no alternative.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Is there an alternative to one of these two medicines for me?
- If both are essential, who is monitoring me and how often?
- Which symptoms mean I should stop and seek help straight away?
Pro+ members
Unlock the full page
Create an account and start a Pro+ trial to unlock the full management advice for Pimozide and Tetrabenazine, the additional notes, the evidence detail and the whole-prescription interaction checker.
- Full clinical management advice
- Additional notes
- Evidence detail
- Interaction checker for a whole prescription
Try Pro+ free for 14 days on the web. No card needed.
Other interactions of Pimozide
- Adagrasib + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Amiodarone + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Amisulpride + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Amitriptyline + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Amoxapine + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Anagrelide + Pimozide Contraindicated
Other interactions of Tetrabenazine
- Dronedarone + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
- Isocarboxazid + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
- Linezolid + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
- Phenelzine + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
- Procarbazine + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
- Rasagiline + Tetrabenazine Contraindicated
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Pimozide with Tetrabenazine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as contraindicated. Pimozide and Tetrabenazine are not normally used together. Taking them at the same time is expected to cause harm or make one of them unsafe, so a different medicine is usually chosen for one of the two. Both drugs prolong the QT interval, and tetrabenazine is also a dopamine-depleting agent with additive extrapyramidal and sedative effects. Together they increase the risk of torsades de pointes.
How serious is the interaction between Pimozide and Tetrabenazine?
MediHelp rates it contraindicated, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Avoid the combination. Consider alternative therapy for the movement disorder or tic indication, with ECG monitoring if there is no alternative.
What other medicines interact with Pimozide?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Pimozide with, for example, Adagrasib, Amiodarone, Amisulpride. The full list is on the Pimozide page.
Full monographs, dosing and an interaction checker in the MediHelp app
Open the complete reference, check multi-drug interactions and use dosing tools in the MediHelp app.
