Chlorpromazine induced priapism : An up to date mini-review

Priapism is an andrological emergency that is characterized by persistent penile erection for more than 4 h that is not related to sexual arousal and requires urgent intervention to preserve the erectile ability of corpora cavernosa. Iatrogenic priapism or drug-induced priapism is considered as a clinically relevant cause of veno-occlusive priapsim that is commonly caused by the administration of a certain drug or as an interaction with other drugs. Several causes have been attributed to cause such condition including the use of antipsychotic drugs as chlorpromazine. Chlorpromazine is a widely used inexpensive antipsychotic that is almost safe, but it has some encountered adverse effects including priapism. Only few cases have been reported in literature concerning priapism as an adverse effect of chlorpromazine; however, most of them were owing to overdose, prolonged administration or as an interaction with other drugs. Here, in this mini-review, we discuss the chlorpromazine-induced priapisms that have been reported in literature.