Perphenazine-induced hiccups.

Hiccup is a spasmodic, involuntary contraction of the inspiratory muscles, associated with delayed and abrupt glottic closure causing a peculiar sound (Launois et al., 1993). A number of medical conditions are known to cause persistent and intractable hiccups. Among the drugs reported to induce hiccups, Thompson et al. stated that corticosteroids and benzodiazepines are the drug classes most frequently associated with the development of hiccups (Thompson and Landry, 1997). Antidopaminergic agents such as chlorpromazine and haloperidol are the preferred drugs used for the treatment of chronic hiccups (Launois et al., 1993). We report a case of severe hiccups occurring in association with the administration of perphenazine, which is a dopamine antagonist. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of hiccups occurring as a side effect of antidopaminergic drugs.