Identify the names of drugs | Prazosin and piperazine, one letter difference in effects, it is important to distinguish between them for lowering blood pressure and expelling parasites!

Some medicines have names that differ by only one letter or sound similar, but their indications are very different. If they are not carefully distinguished and misused, it can delay disease prevention and treatment at best, or even endanger life and health. Starting from this issue, Yaowa will invite excellent pharmaceutical science teams from domestic hospitals to introduce drugs with similar names but different effects, so that you can better identify and use them reasonably.

Dalian Central Hospital was founded in 1949. It is a comprehensive tertiary-level hospital integrating medical treatment, teaching, scientific research, prevention, health care and rehabilitation. It is a non-affiliated hospital of Dalian Medical University, a teaching hospital of China Medical University and a postgraduate training base. The Department of Pharmacy has a total of 67 pharmaceutical technicians and 14 senior professional titles, including 12 departments including outpatient Western pharmacy, outpatient Chinese medicine pharmacy, emergency pharmacy, inpatient pharmacy, medicine display pharmacy, anesthesia pharmacy, Western medicine warehouse, Chinese medicine warehouse, liquid preparation room, prepharmacy room, health center pharmacy and clinical pharmacy. The hospital's Department of Pharmacy has been making continuous efforts in genetic testing, smart pharmacies, Internet pharmacy, pharmacy clinics, and pharmaceutical information construction, especially in clinical pharmacy, where it started early and began to send clinical pharmacists for training in 2006. In December 2007, it was identified by the Ministry of Health (now the National Health Commission) as one of the first 42 hospitals to carry out clinical pharmacist pilot work. In July 2010, it was approved as the third batch of national clinical pharmacist training bases. In 2022, the clinical pharmacy discipline was rated as a key clinical specialty in Liaoning Province by the Liaoning Health Commission.

Mr. Wang went to the hospital for high blood pressure. The doctor prescribed prazosin and told him how to use it. After returning home, Mr. Wang forgot how to use it, so he asked his daughter to help him look at the instructions. "Prazosin can also treat high blood pressure!" The daughter said as she looked at the instructions. "Why do I remember that the pagoda candy I gave my children was also called prazosin! Are they the same medicine?"

Today, Yaowa will show you how to identify piperazine and prazosin, which only differ by one letter.

The pagoda candy mentioned by Uncle Wang's daughter is mainly composed of piperazine. It is a commonly used anthelmintic, mainly used for children with roundworm and pinworm infections. It is made into pagoda candy, which not only looks good, but also has a sweet taste, which can meet the medication needs of children. The medicine is chewed or dissolved in warm water, usually once before bedtime. If it is used to treat roundworm disease, it needs to be taken for 2 consecutive days, and if it is used to treat pinworm disease, it needs to be taken for 7-10 consecutive days.

The mechanism of action of piperazine is to paralyze the worms, so that they cannot attach to the intestinal wall of the human body, and then they are excreted from the body with the peristalsis of the intestine. Therefore, while taking the medicine, patients can eat more foods rich in crude fiber, such as cabbage, whole grains, celery, leeks, apples, etc., to facilitate the excretion of the worms. It should be noted that although piperazine made into pagoda candy tastes as sweet as sugar, it is a drug after all. If taken in excess, headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, muscle cramps and other discomfort symptoms may occur, so it must be placed out of reach of children.

Let's talk about the prazosin used by Grandpa Wang. Although it is only one letter different from piperazine, its efficacy is completely different. Prazosin is an antihypertensive drug used to treat mild to moderate hypertension. The drug is characterized by a "first dose effect", that is, if a normal dose is used for the first time, it may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, manifested as dizziness, weakness, blackness in front of the eyes and other symptoms. Therefore, when taking it for the first time, the minimum amount indicated in the instructions should be used and taken before going to bed to prevent or alleviate this phenomenon. In addition, during the medication period, it is not advisable to change body position too quickly. If you get up quickly after lying down, you may feel dizzy or faint.

If you take piperazine as prazosin, it will not only fail to lower blood pressure, but long-term use will also cause neuromuscular toxicity, and symptoms such as sleep disturbance and muscle pain will appear. On the contrary, if you take prazosin as piperazine, it will not only fail to expel parasites, but also cause a series of uncomfortable symptoms such as hypotension, dizziness, drowsiness, and lack of energy. Therefore, you must check carefully before taking the medicine. Once you use it incorrectly, not only will the original disease not be cured, but it will also bring new problems.

Now you all know that piperazine is an anthelmintic and prazosin is an antihypertensive drug. Don’t confuse them!