Prazosin

Oral
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, Raynaud's syndrome

Oral
Heart failure

Oral
Hypertension

Initially, 500 mcg daily, titrate cautiously.

Initially, 500 mcg daily, titrate cautiously.

May be taken with or without food. Starting dose is best taken w/ dinner, at least 2-3 hr before retiring. Maintenance doses may be taken w/ or w/o meals.

Patient with history of micturition in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH); CHF due to mechanical obstruction (e.g. aortic valve stenosis, mitral valve stenosis, pulmonary embolism, restrictive pericardial disease). Renal and hepatic impairment. Elderly. Pregnancy and lactation.

Significant: Angina, CNS depression, floppy iris syndrome, orthostatic hypotension, syncope, loss of consciousness, priapism.
Cardiac disorders: Dyspnoea, palpitations, tachycardia.
Ear and labyrinth disorders: Tinnitus.
Eye disorders: Reddened sclera, blurred vision, eye pain.
Gastrointestinal disorders: Vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, dry mouth, abdominal pain.
General disorders and administration site conditions: Asthenia.
Metabolism and nutrition disorders: Oedema.
Nervous system disorders: Paraesthesia, vertigo.
Psychiatric disorders: Insomnia, depression, nervousness.
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders: Nasal congestion.
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Rash.
Vascular disorders: Epistaxis, flushing, vasculitis.

PO: C

This drug may cause dizziness and drowsiness, if affected, do not drive or operate machinery.

Monitor blood pressure.

Symptoms: Hypotension, profound drowsiness, depressed reflexes. Management: Symptomatic and supportive treatment. Keep patient in supine position to restore blood pressure and normalise heart rate. If inadequate, administer volume expanders in case of shock. Then, administer vasopressors and angiotensin if necessary. Monitor and support renal function as needed.

Additive hypotensive effect with diuretic or other antihypertensive agent (e.g. β-adrenergic blockers). May cause symptomatic hypotension with phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors (e.g. sildenafil).

May give false positive results in screening tests for phaeochromocytoma urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and methoxyhydroxyphenyl glycol (MHPG) metabolites for norepinephrine.

Description: Prazosin is an alpha blocker that competitively inhibits postsynaptic alpha₁-adrenoreceptors in vascular smooth muscles, resulting to vasodilation, and decrease in total peripheral resistance and blood pressure.
Onset: Within 2 hours.
Duration: 10-24 hours.
Pharmacokinetics:
Absorption: Readily absorbed from gastrointestinal tract. Bioavailability: 43-82%. Time to peak plasma concentration: 1-3 hours.
Distribution: Enters breast milk (small amounts). Volume of distribution: 0.5 L/kg. Plasma protein binding: 97%.
Metabolism: Extensively metabolised in the liver via demethylation and conjugation.
Excretion: Mainly via faeces (5-11% as unchanged drug); urine (<10%). Half-life: Approx 2-3 hours; 7 hours (patients with CHF).

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Database. Prazosin, CID=4893, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Prazosin (accessed on Jan. 23, 2020)

Store below 30°C.

Other Antihypertensives

C02CA01 - prazosin ; Belongs to the class of alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists, peripherally-acting antiadrenergic agents. Used in the treatment of hypertension.

Anon. Prazosin. Lexicomp Online. Hudson, Ohio. Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. https://online.lexi.com. Accessed 29/03/2019.

Buckingham R (ed). Prazosin Hydrochloride. Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference [online]. London. Pharmaceutical Press. https://www.medicinescomplete.com. Accessed 29/03/2019.

Joint Formulary Committee. Prazosin. British National Formulary [online]. London. BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press. https://www.medicinescomplete.com. Accessed 29/03/2019.

Prazosin Hydrochloride Capsule (Greens Tone LLC). DailyMed. Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/. Accessed 29/03/2019.