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Long-Term Phenothiazine Treatment does not Cause Pituitary Tumours

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Victoria A. Lilford ,
R. J. Lilford ,
Janet E. Dacie ,
Lesley A. Rees  and
T. Chard
Victoria A. Lilford
Affiliation:
Stamford Hill Group Practice, London N16 (previously Friern Barnet Psychiatric Hospital)
R. J. Lilford*
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Reproductive Physiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and The London Hospital Medical College, Turner Street, London E1
Janet E. Dacie
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London
Lesley A. Rees
Affiliation:
St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, London
T. Chard
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Physiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London
*
∗Correspondence.
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Summary

In order to explore the possibility that prolactinomas may be caused by prolonged under-inhibition of prolactin-secreting cells we examined the pituitary fossa in 69 patients on long-term phenothiazine treatment. The average duration of treatment was 12.5 years and 55 (80 per cent) of the patients had persistently raised serum prolactin levels. The incidence of radiologically detectable pituitary fossa abnormalities was not significantly different to that in control populations. In 62 per cent of patients the skull x-rays from an earlier admission were available. Comparison of these with earlier films did not show a higher incidence of pituitary fossa abnormalities after prolonged exposure to phenothiazines.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 4 , April 1984 , pp. 421 - 424
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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