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Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. [14] It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety , seizures , alcohol withdrawal syndrome , muscle spasms , insomnia , and restless legs syndrome . [ 14 ]
In a hospital environment, intravenous clonazepam, lorazepam, and diazepam are first-line choices. In the community, intravenous administration is not practical and so rectal diazepam or buccal midazolam are used, with a preference for midazolam as its administration is easier and more socially acceptable. [51] [52]
An Australian study (2004) of overdose admissions between 1987 and 2002 found alprazolam, which happens to be the most prescribed benzodiazepine in Australia and the United States, to be more toxic than diazepam and the other three benzodiazepines which it was compared to (alprazolam, diazepam, oxazepam, chlordiazepoxide, and clonazepam).
The consensus is to reduce dosage gradually over several weeks, e.g. 4 or more weeks for diazepam doses over 30 mg/day, [1] with the rate determined by the person's ability to tolerate symptoms. [120] The recommended reduction rates range from 50% of the initial dose every week or so, [121] to 10–25% of the daily dose every 2 weeks. [120]
The tables below contain a sample list of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine analogs that are commonly prescribed, with their basic pharmacological characteristics, such as half-life and equivalent doses to other benzodiazepines, also listed, along with their trade names and primary uses.
[6] [21] The long-term effects of benzodiazepines may differ from the adverse effects seen after acute administration of benzodiazepines. [22] An analysis of cancer patients found that those who took tranquillisers or sleeping tablets had a substantially poorer quality of life on all measurements conducted, as well as a worse clinical picture ...
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Diazepam (1963). Can be given rectally by trained care-givers. Midazolam (N/A). Increasingly being used as an alternative to diazepam. This water-soluble drug is squirted into the side of the mouth but not swallowed. It is rapidly absorbed by the buccal mucosa. Lorazepam (1972). Given by injection in hospital.