[Drug-induced neurological complications in a hospital cohort]

Among the patients admitted to our clinic between 1988-1994, we selected 109 with a neurologic disorder induced by medication. We registered 34 cases of drug-induced headache, 33 of extrapyramidal syndrome, 10 of polyneuropathy, and 5 of myopathy. 12 patients presented neurologic side effects of antiepileptic drugs, and 15 were admitted for epileptic seizures or neuropsychological alterations induced by drugs. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical symptoms of these types of neurologic disorders. It also discusses the drug-induced neurologic complications encountered in general practice. Therapeutic advice, and particularly the choice of psychotropic drugs for epileptic or elderly patients, is proposed.