BACKGROUND Sedation is used frequently for patients in intensive care units who require mechanical ventilation, but oversedation is one of the main side effects. Different strategies have been proposed to prevent oversedation. The extent to which these strategies have been adopted by intensivists is unknown. METHODS We developed a six-section questionnaire that covered the drugs used, modalit...

Amnesia following sedative-hypnotic drug exposure is discussed. Anterograde amnesia clearly occurs with many benzodiazepines. Several drugs are assessed: benzodiazepines and two hypnotics in particular that are structurally unrelated to the benzodiazepines but share some of their properties: zolpidem and zopiclone. The amnesic effects of these drugs are described, memory process, biology of mem...

BACKGROUND Despite their widespread use the effects of taking benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics during pregnancy on the risk of major congenital anomaly (MCA) are uncertain. The objectives were to estimate absolute and relative risks of MCAs in children exposed to specific anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs taken in the first trimester of pregnancy, compared with children of mothers w...

BACKGROUND Preventing falls and bone fractures in hospital care is an important issue in geriatric medicine. Use of hypnotics is a potential risk factor for falls and bone fractures in older patients. However, data are lacking on the association between use of hypnotics and the occurrence of bone fracture. METHODS We used a national inpatient database including 1,057 hospitals in Japan and in...

BACKGROUND Little is known about patients' perceptions of newer hypnotics. AIM To investigate use, experience, and perceptions of Z drug and benzodiazepine hypnotics in the community. DESIGN OF STUDY Cross-sectional survey of general practice patients who had received at least one prescription for a Z drug or benzodiazepine in the previous 6 months. SETTING Lincolnshire, UK. METHOD Self...

Introduction: Patients with Down syndrome (DS due to relative macroglossia and dynamic airway collapse) are vulnerable significant upper complications. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition noted in about 79% of these children . Children OSA, or without DS, sensitive respiratory depression by drugs such as sedatives, opioids hypnotics. Abnormalities the cardiovascular system also ...

BACKGROUND Prescription drug sales may vary considerably across regions and over time. This study aimed to assess whether there is an association between mean drug sales and prevalence of excessive use in a range of psychotropic prescription drugs with an abuse potential, and if so, whether the variation in mean drug sales mostly reflects variation in the prevalence of excessive use or mostly r...

In post-mortem investigations of fatal intoxication, it is challenging to determine which drug(s) were responsible for the death, and drugs did not. This study aims provide femoral blood drug levels in lethal intoxication control cases, where cause death was other than intoxication. The reference values could assist interpretation toxicological results routine casework. To this end, all from 20...

Data from a hospital-based drug surveillance programme were used to determine how often benzodiazepine drugs were used in general medical wards. Benzodiazepines were the drugs most commonly used as hypnotics and were given to 32% of these patients. Concomitant use of more than one benzodiazepine drug or of benzodiazepines with other psychoactive drugs was common and often irrational. A series o...