Formulary
Piracetam: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Piracetam clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Piracetam: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Piracetam clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
Indications and dose
**Adjunctive treatment of cortical myoclonus**
- **Adult** (By Mouth): Initially 7.2 g daily in 2-3 divided doses, then increased in steps of 4.8 g every 3-4 days, adjusted according to response, subsequently, attempts should be made to reduce dose of concurrent therapy; maximum 24 g per day.
Cautions
Gastric ulcer; history of haemorrhagic stroke; increased risk of bleeding; major surgery; underlying disorders of haemostasis
Contraindications
Cerebral haemorrhage; Huntington's chorea
Side effects
Common or very common Anxiety; movement disorders; weight increased Uncommon Asthenia; depression; drowsiness Frequency not known Angioedema; confusion; diarrhoea; epilepsy exacerbated; gastrointestinal discomfort; haemorrhagic disorder; hallucination; headache; insomnia; nausea; skin reactions; vertigo; vomiting
Interactions
**Severe interactions:**
- Acenocoumarol In a published single-blind study on patients with severe recurrent venous thrombosis, piracetam 9.6 g/d did not modify the doses of acenocoumarol necessary to reach INR 2.5 to 3.5,...
**Other interactions (4):**
- Pharmacokinetics interactions The drug interaction potential resulting in changes of piracetam pharmacokinetics is expected to be low because approximately 90% of the dose of piracetam is excreted...
- In vitro , piracetam does not inhibit the human liver cytochrome P450 isoforms CYP 1A2, 2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1 and 4A9/11 at concentrations of 142, 426 and 1422 g/ml.
- Antiepileptic drugs A 20 g daily dose of piracetam over 4 weeks did not modify the peak and trough serum levels of antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbitone, valproate) in...
- Alcohol Concomitant administration of alcohol had no effect on piracetam serum levels and alcohol levels were not modified by a 1.6 g oral dose of piracetam.
Pregnancy
Avoid.
Breast feeding
Avoid.
Hepatic impairment
Manufacturer advises caution in combined hepatic and renal impairment. Dose adjustments Manufacturer advises dose reduction in combined hepatic and renal impairment.
Renal impairment
Avoid if creatinine clearance less than 20 mL/minute. M Dose adjustments Use two-thirds of normal dose in 2 or 3 divided doses if creatinine clearance 50-80 mL/minute. M Use one-third of normal dose in 2 divided doses if creatinine clearance 30-50 mL/minute. M Use one-sixth of normal dose as a single dose if creatinine clearance 20-30 mL/minute. M See Prescribing in renal impairment .
Medicinal forms
Clinical governance
**Author:** MedNext Clinical Team. **Clinical reviewer:** Dr Shameer Deen, MBBS, MS, MRCS. **Sources:** BNF, Indian Pharmacopoeia, CIMS India. **Correction:** Report errors at support@mednext.academy.
Inside MedNext for this topic
- 411 MedNext-authored chapters
- 80,000+ MCQ bank
- 15 study modes
- Growing visual cheat sheets
Study modes
- Notes
- MCQ
- Audio
- Video
- Visual
- 3D Anatomy
- Trace
- Flashcards
- Mnemonics
- Image Bank
- Clinical
- Microscopy
- Audio QBank
- Cadaver
- Book Match
Continue reading
Subject HubPharmacology Hub
All pharmacology resources in one place.
Drug SchedulesIndian Drug Schedules
Schedule H, H1, X and G classifications.
FormularyBrowse all drugs
Search 1,850+ drug profiles.
Study Piracetam in the MedNext app
Challenge yourself with targeted pharmacology MCQs on this drug class. Every explanation links back to the chapter that teaches the concept.
Start drug challengeExplore the full formulary

