Asphyxia Relatively Inherent to Tranquilization

Abstract

IT WOULD BE superfluous to introduce additional examples of the documental rise in attempted and completed suicides^28,52,54,68 and sudden unexplained deaths^{10,12,26,67,71} among the normal and schizophrenic population therapeutically exposed to tranquilization. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the mechanism and pathogenesis previously not documented, as far as I can ascertain, in case reports of sudden unexplained deaths of patients on tranquilization. Asphyxia, a term applied to a definite sequence of clinical symptoms, is a result of a physiopathological process implicated and influenced by ataraxics acting upon the central nervous system (CNS)^3,4,16,37 resulting in gastroesophageal reflux,^7,8,14,22,31 respiratory insufficiency and failure.^23,34,46 The adverse behavioral affect on the CNS attributed to chlorpromazine,^6,18,20,35 promazine,^44,47,73 reserpine,^15,74 and other tranquilizers^17,19,63,64 emerged with a characteristic clinical pattern in both children and adults, ex