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Benzodiazepines prescribing in eldery patients: A study about the prescribing behaviour of tunisian psychiatrists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

M. Lagha ,
U. Ouali  and
F. Nacef
M. Lagha*
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry A, Razi hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
U. Ouali
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry A, Razi hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
F. Nacef
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry A, Razi hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Prescribing benzodiazepines (BZD) in patients over 65 years old requires special precautions in view of the frequency and the severity of their side effects, especially in this age group.

Objectives

The objectives of our work were to evaluate the modalities of BZDs prescribing in elderly patients in psychiatry and to assess their compliance with international recommendations.

Methods

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted through a Google-forms self-administered questionnaire, intended for psychiatrists and psychiatric residents, over a period of two months, from April 1 to May 31, 2019.

Results

One hundred physicians practicing in psychiatry answered our questionnaire. The response rate was 28%. Special precautions were taken in elderly patients by 96.5% of the participants. In eldery patients, long half-life BZDs were prescribed in 15% of cases. The majority of the participants indicated that the risk of falls (98.1%) and memory impairments (75.2%) were the main risks to which they were particularly vigilant during the prescribing of BZDs in eldery patients. In the elderly, 20% of the participants said they did not take special precautions when stopping BZDs.

Conclusions

The frequency and severity of side effects associated with BZDs in the elderly are the cause of strict prescribing rules in this age group. According to the results of our study and to the literature data, the prescribing practices of these molecules in the elderly remain insufficiently in accordance with the guidelines.

Keywords

BenzodiazepinesPrescribingpsychiatryeldery
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S428
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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