Acepromazine (PromAce): Why This Phenothiazine Is a Veterinary Drug, Not a Human Prescription, and What Telehealth Can Still Do

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Acepromazine (also called acetopromazine or acetylpromazine) is a phenothiazine. Families type the name after a dog tablet labeled PromAce, a vet visit for travel anxiety, or an old 1950s paper that tried it in people with schizophrenia. It is not a current U.S. human pharmacy product. This guide explains what acepromazine is, why veterinarians still use it, and how telehealth can still help if you need an evaluation for anxiety, agitation, or psychosis.

This page is educational. It is not a diagnosis, a refill promise, or a claim that any plan will pay for a specific drug. Coverage varies by plan. Verify benefits before you book. If you are in crisis, call or text 988. If someone swallowed a pet tablet by mistake, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

See conditions Klarity treats or start with online anxiety treatment if worry, restlessness, or tension is the main problem you want to discuss.

TL;DR

• DrugBank (DB01614) describes acepromazine as a phenothiazine psychotropic used little in humans and frequently in animals as a sedative and antiemetic. (DrugBank DB01614)
• Wikipedia’s identifier table (cross-checked against registry links) lists CAS 61-00-7, PubChem CID 6077, UNII 54EJ303F0R, ATC N05AA04, and formula C19H22N2OS. Common names include ACP, Ace, Atravet, and Acezine. (Wikipedia, Acepromazine)
• DailyMed lists PromAce tablets (acepromazine maleate) as a prescription animal drug (NADA 117-532) for dogs only: aid in tranquilization and as a preanesthetic. Packager: Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. Chemistry: 2-acetyl-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) phenothiazine hydrogen maleate. Dog dose on that label: 0.25-1.0 mg/lb. Human consumption warning applies to food animals, not people taking the tablet as medicine. (DailyMed PromAce tablets)
• A 1958 BMJ trial tested acepromazine maleate in chronic schizophrenia; the molecule then left human psychiatry. Chlorpromazine, a close analogue, remains a human option. (Collard & Maggs, BMJ 1958, PMC2029326)
• Poison Control: acepromazine is not for human use. Accidental ingestions (child or adult who took the dog’s pill) can cause drowsiness and slowed breathing; seizures, coma, and death have been reported. Call 1-800-222-1222. (Poison Control, acepromazine)
• Do not buy research-grade powder or unlabeled overseas tablets and swallow them. Phenothiazines as a class still carry LiverTox cautions. (LiverTox phenothiazine class note)
• Medicare behavioral telehealth in the home remains available on a permanent basis, with several other Medicare telehealth flexibilities extended through December 31, 2027 (HHS page last updated February 5, 2026). Klarity’s 2,000+ licensed providers can evaluate current symptoms and discuss medicines that U.S. human pharmacies still stock. (HHS telehealth policy updates)

On this page

• What is acepromazine?
• PromAce and veterinary use
• Why it left human psychiatry
• If someone took a pet tablet
• How to read old identifiers
• Safety and class risks
• What telehealth can still do
• How Klarity fits
• FAQ

What is acepromazine?

Acepromazine is a first-generation phenothiazine. DrugBank’s public card is short: clinicians used it little in people; veterinarians use it often as a sedative and antiemetic. Wikipedia adds the 1950s human antipsychotic chapter and the current veterinary role. A closely related analogue, chlorpromazine, is still used in humans.

If you found “PromAce” on a yellow scored tablet, you are usually looking at acepromazine maleate for dogs, not a human antipsychotic refill. Related Klarity first-generation guides include promazine (Sparine), cyamemazine (Tercian), and dixyrazine (Esucos).

Klarity does not prescribe acepromazine. A licensed clinician can still review current human symptoms and talk through medicines U.S. human pharmacies actually stock.

PromAce and veterinary use

The DailyMed PromAce tablet label is a prescription animal drug, not an FDA human label. Key points from that fiche:

• Approved under NADA 117-532. For use in dogs only. Federal law restricts it to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.
• Indications: aid in tranquilization and as a preanesthetic. The label also mentions help controlling intractable animals during examination, treatment, grooming, x-ray, and minor procedures.
• Mode of action on the label: CNS depression with sedation, muscular relaxation, and less spontaneous activity. It lowers the dose requirement of general anesthetics.
• Dog dose listed: 0.25-1.0 mg/lb of body weight, repeatable as required. Tablets: 10 mg and 25 mg, quarter-scored.
• Contraindications on the animal label include use with organophosphate vermifuges or ectoparasiticides (including flea collars) and use with procaine hydrochloride. Epinephrine is contraindicated for acute hypotension from phenothiazine tranquilizers.
• Rare idiosyncratic reactions in dogs include aggression, biting/chewing, and nervousness.

Those figures are a veterinary label. They are not a human prescription. Wikipedia notes extra caution in stallions (paraphimosis and priapism risk) and hypotension from vasodilation in geriatric or debilitated animals. That is equine and small-animal practice, not a Klarity visit.

Why it left human psychiatry

Collard and Maggs published a clinical trial of acepromazine maleate in chronic schizophrenia in the British Medical Journal on 21 June 1958 (PMC2029326, PMID 13536530). Poison Control summarizes the later history: the drug entered human schizophrenia care in the 1950s, then use stopped because of side effects and limited benefit. Today U.S. product is veterinary.

If an old chart or a family story still says “acepromazine for nerves,” do not treat that as a current order. A clinician who practices today starts from FDA-available human options and your present symptoms.

If someone took a pet tablet

Poison Control is direct: acepromazine is not for human use. Most poisonings involve a curious child or an adult who mixed up bottles. Common symptoms include drowsiness and slowed breathing. Seizures, coma, and death have been reported. Other reported effects include dizziness, dry mouth, dystonia, low blood pressure, respiratory depression, and cardiac arrest.

Their published cases include an adult who took the dog’s tablet and had overnight drowsiness, diarrhea, and dry mouth, and a toddler who may have mouthed a partially dissolved tablet and became “a little loopy.” Keep pet medicines in original, child-resistant containers, separate from human bottles.

Call 1-800-222-1222 or use Poison Control’s online tool. Do not wait for a telehealth slot if breathing slows, the person will not wake, or a child swallowed an unknown amount.

How to read old identifiers

Use these strings to match a discharge list or a lab printout. They do not mean a U.S. human pharmacy can fill the drug.

• DrugBank: DB01614
• CAS: 61-00-7
• PubChem CID: 6077
• UNII (base): 54EJ303F0R
• Acepromazine maleate UNII (DailyMed): 37862HP2OM
• ATC: N05AA04
• Formula: C19H22N2OS
• Chemistry name on PromAce: 2-acetyl-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) phenothiazine hydrogen maleate

Safety and class risks

Phenothiazines as a class still carry a LiverTox caution for drug-induced liver injury. That is a class note, not a unique acepromazine human trial.

The animal PromAce label adds practical class warnings that still matter if this name sits in a household:

• Marked sedation and suppression of the sympathetic nervous system.
• Additive depression with other CNS depressants and potentiation of general anesthesia.
• Hepatic detoxification: extra caution if there is a history of liver dysfunction or leukopenia (stated for animals on that label).
• Do not treat phenothiazine hypotension with epinephrine.

If someone is in crisis now, call or text 988. Telehealth is the wrong channel for collapse, severe rigidity, or stopped breathing.

What telehealth can still do

HHS maintains public telehealth policy pages. Medicare behavioral telehealth in the home remains available on a permanent basis. Several other Medicare telehealth flexibilities run through December 31, 2027. The Medicare payment-policy page was last updated February 5, 2026.

A video visit can:

• Take a history of anxiety, sleep, psychosis, mood, and any old phenothiazine names on a family chart.
• Screen for depression and anxiety that often travel with psychotic-spectrum illness.
• Discuss currently available oral human medicines when clinically appropriate.
• Help you plan in-person follow-up if a long-acting injectable or emergency care is the right next step.

Insurance may cover a portion of a telehealth evaluation. It often does not. Prior authorization is common for antipsychotics. Confirm your plan before you book. Do not treat a blog as a coverage promise.

Check online anxiety treatment if worry, restlessness, or tension is the main problem today. For a broader condition map, use Klarity’s condition pages.

How Klarity fits

Klarity’s network includes 2,000+ licensed providers. A visit can cover current symptoms and whether a different, available human medicine or therapy path makes sense. It cannot restart PromAce, fill a veterinary tablet for a person, or treat a pet.

If you searched acepromazine because a relative used chlorpromazine or another phenothiazine, say that in the intake. The names sit in the same chemical family. The products on U.S. shelves are not interchangeable by memory.

Frequently asked questions

Is acepromazine the same as PromAce?

PromAce is a brand of acepromazine maleate tablets for dogs on the DailyMed animal label. Other trade names you may see in older lists include Atravet and Acezine.

Can a person take acepromazine for anxiety?

No. Poison Control and DrugBank treat it as a veterinary sedative, not a current human anxiolytic. A licensed clinician can still evaluate human anxiety and discuss medicines made for people.

Is acepromazine the same as chlorpromazine?

No. They are related phenothiazines. Chlorpromazine remains a human antipsychotic. Acepromazine is the veterinary cousin.

Does insurance cover a visit to talk about an old antipsychotic name?

It may. Benefits vary by employer plan, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage. Ask the plan what it pays for an outpatient telehealth mental health visit, and whether a specific medicine would need prior authorization.

What if my child ate the dog’s tablet?

Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Do not use this page as a dose calculator.

When to get urgent help

Go to emergency care for high fever with muscle stiffness, sudden confusion, fainting, chest pain, trouble breathing, or thoughts of self-harm. Call or text 988 for a mental health crisis. This article is education, not a diagnosis or a prescription.

Explore conditions · Online anxiety treatment

Disclaimer: Coverage and formulary status vary by plan and change over time. Verify benefits with your insurer before you book. Klarity does not guarantee that any medicine, including historic or veterinary products named here, is available or covered for human use. This page does not replace licensed medical advice. Acepromazine products discussed here are veterinary; they are not Klarity prescriptions.