Thiethylperazine and tardive dyskinesia.

Over a 14-month period in the outpatient department of a geriatric hospital, 7 female patients over 75 years of age were identified with tardive dyskinesia associated with the use of thiethylperazine. The indication for thiethylperazine treatment had been vertigo or dizziness. 3 of the patients also had symptoms related to cerebral arteriosclerosis and 2 had mild Parkinson's disease without levodopa therapy. None of them were markedly demented nor had chronic psychosis. Tardive dyskinesia appeared after a treatment period of 3 weeks to 6 years. These findings suggest that association of tardive dyskinesia with the use of thiethylperazine is not uncommon in geriatric outpatients.