Screening for benzodiazepines is routinely performed by immunochemical analysis such as enzyme immunoassay. However, the wide range of therapeutic and toxic concentrations of the different benzodiazepines and their extensive metabolisation and conjugation hamper the design of an immunoassay protocol that can detect all benzodiazepines and their corresponding urinary metabolites. Only a few inve...

Paradoxal reactions to benzodiazepines may be presented in different ways. In some persons, primarily older persons and children, especilally with coexisting somatic disorders, paradoxal reactions may be manifested as logoroic speech, unapropriate social behaviour, and psychomotor agitation. Although benzodiazepines lower levels of agression, few studies described that in some persons levels of...

INTRODUCTION Convulsive status epilepticus is a common emergency condition in paediatric practice. Classically, it is defi ned as continuous or recurrent seizure activity lasting for longer than 30 min in which the patient does not regain baseline mental status.1 Commonly, intervention is recommended after only 5 min of seizure activity2 as neuronal damage may begin to occur after this period, ...

The benzodiazepines have now been available to the clinician for over 20 years, since the introduction of chlordiazepoxide (Librium) in 1960. The broad and unique spectrum of activity of these compounds as anxiolytics, hypnotics/sedatives, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants, together with their low toxicity and an essential absence from peripheral side-effects, has resulted in compounds of th...

The objective of the study was to assess what differences exist between individuals who are dependent on opiates and benzodiazepines and compare to those who are dependent on opiates. A questionnaire was compiled and administered to patients who had been consecutively admitted to an inpatient drug treatment unit. The prevalence of benzodiazepine dependency was 54 per cent [n = 34]. Patients dep...

This paper describes a CE method for analyzing benzodiazepines using the chaotropic salts lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiOTf), lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF(6)), and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiNTf(2)) as modifiers in the running buffer. Although adequate resolution of seven benzodiazepine analytes occurred under the influence of each of the chaotropic anions, the se...

With less than 1% of patients who use benzodiazepines being affected, paradoxical responses to benzodiazepines are rare. In this case report, we outline the course of an 80-year-old female who developed a paradoxical response to benzodiazepines. Significant medical and psychiatric history includes anxiety, mood disorder, hypothyroidism, bilateral mastectomy, goiter removal, and triple bypass. T...

Although no guidelines support the use of benzodiazepines in bereavement care, clinicians continue to use this medication for surviving family members. An anonymous survey about perinatal death was sent to 1500 United States obstetricians. One question assessed beliefs about prescribing sedatives to bereaved mothers. Almost half (49%) of 804 obstetricians endorsed the use of sedatives, such as ...

BACKGROUND Pakistan has one of the highest prevalence of poisoning in the world. However, limited data exist on the frequency of poisons implicated in homicidal, suicidal, and accidental cases in North-West Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). METHODS This retrospective study of 353 cases and biological specimens of poisoning received at the department of Forensic medicine and toxicology, Khyber Me...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Despite repeated recommendations to limit benzodiazepines to short-term use (2-4 weeks), doctors worldwide are still prescribing them for months or years. This over-prescribing has resulted in large populations of long-term users who have become dependent on benzodiazepines and has also led to leakage of benzodiazepines into the illicit drug market. This review outlines the ri...