2025 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 24-29
This study evaluated the adverse events observed over a 6-month period in patients prescribed levodopa at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology, Fukuoka University Hospital, as of January 2023. The incidence of adverse events was 15.9% (58/364 patients), with hallucinations (n＝13), dyskinesia (n＝13), and dizziness/instability (n＝8) being the most common. A multivariate analysis identified that the addition or dose escalation of anti-parkinsonian drugs (P＜0.001) and a disease duration of≥6 years (P＝0.038) were significantly associated with adverse events. Additionally, evaluation using the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale showed that only 39.7% (27/68 drugs) of cases were judged to have a strong relationship between the drug and adverse events. These findings underscore the importance of adverse event monitoring, particularly during the addition or dose escalation of anti-parkinsonian drugs, for patients in advanced stages of parkinsonism who are treated with levodopa.
