Systematic Review on Loxapine: A Typical Antipsychotic Drug Used to Treat Agitation in Schizophrenic Patients

Loxapine is an antipsychotic drug used in neuroleptic disorders since 1980 with an entrenched drug profile. Drug possesses dibenzoxazepine tricyclic 7-membered heterocyclic ring available commercially as oral, intramuscular and inhalation dosage forms. This review comprises the various study designs of loxapine irrespective of its dose formulations. A comprehensive and systematic search was conducted on "Scopus", "Web of science" and "Pubmed" data base and findings were critically analyzed. The data suggests that there is no significant difference in efficacy between typical and atypical antipsychotics. Till now, oral and intramuscular route is widely in use. Oral dosage forms are available in the market for the treatment of agitation related to schizophrenia but it has limitation of delayed onset of action that results in increased risk. Intramuscular formulations reveal a significant difference compared to placebo with respect to agitation but time range could be in range of 15 to 60 minutes. Therefore, there is a need for a novel drug delivery system with rapid action, increased half life, better tolerance by the patient and sustained release to get enhanced patient compliance.