Neuroleptic medication: the literature and implications for mental health nursing

The past twenty years have been a period of consolidation in the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia followed more recently by a period where a number of new, atypical neuroleptics have enhanced the treatment options available to people with schizophrenia. In this article the contemporary research into neuroleptic medications, the mainstay of treatment for schizophrenia, is reviewed and critiqued. In particular, the article addresses important issues such as drug efficacy and action, the therapeutic effects of neuroleptics, side effects, including the recent research related to these side effects and, finally, the implications for mental health nurses. The issues raised here have sufficient relevance for mental health nurses for items to be considered in all undergraduate nursing and postgraduate mental health nursing courses.