ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2012
Benzodiazepine use in Belgian nursing homes: a closer look into indications and dosages.
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers and enablers for deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists in older adults: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies using the theoretical domains framework.Implementation science : IS · 2022Pooled it
- Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Interventions to Reduce Antipsychotic and Benzodiazepine Use Within Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review.Drugs & aging · 2018Pooled it
- Use of Benzodiazepines in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review of Literature.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2015Pooled it
- Unravelling the spine-gut-pain connection: chronic musculoskeletal pain and digestive dysfunction in a large-scale population-based cohort of 110,685 individuals.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- The Burden and Treatment of Chronic Constipation Among US Nursing Home Residents.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2023Article
- The impact of a pharmacist intervention on post-discharge hypnotic drug discontinuation in geriatric inpatients: a before-after study.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Development of a 3D-Printed Dosing Platform to Aid in Zolpidem Withdrawal Therapy.Pharmaceutics · 2021Article
- Trends in benzodiazepine receptor agonists use and associated factors in the Belgian general older population: analysis of the Belgian health interview survey data.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Trends in the consumption rates of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine-related drugs in the health region of Lleida from 2002 to 2015.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Psychotropic Drug-Associated Pneumonia in Older Adults.Drugs & aging · 2020Review
- Prescription Benzodiazepine Use in Privately Insured U.S. Children and Adolescents.American journal of preventive medicine · 2019Article
- Association between Physician Intensity of Antibiotic Prescribing and the Prescription of Benzodiazepines, Opioids and Proton-Pump Inhibitors to Nursing Home Residents: a Population-Based Observational Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2019Observational
- Use of Central Nervous System (CNS) Medicines in Aged Care Homes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2019Article
- Effect of Exercise on Behavioral Symptoms and Pain in Patients With Dementia Living in Nursing Homes.American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias · 2019Article
- Deprescribing Benzodiazepines in Older Patients: Impact of Interventions Targeting Physicians, Pharmacists, and Patients.Drugs & aging · 2018Review
- Long-term use of benzodiazepines in older patients in Germany: a retrospective analysis.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2017Article
- A Review of Adverse Outcomes Associated with Psychoactive Drug Use in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia.Drugs & aging · 2016Review
- The association between benzodiazepine use and sleep quality in residential aged care facilities: a cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2016Article
- Potentially inappropriate medications in elderly ambulatory and institutionalized patients: an observational study.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2016Observational
- Effects of a geriatric intervention aiming to improve quality care in nursing homes on benzodiazepine use and discontinuation.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aim(1) To describe the prevalence of benzodiazepine use in Belgian nursing homes, with specific attention to indications and dosages. (2) To compare actual and recommended dosages of benzodiazepines for anxiety and insomnia. (3) To explore the risk profile for chronic benzodiazepine use in institutionalised older adults.
methodsMedication charts of 1,730 residents from 76 nursing homes in Belgium were collected and analysed, using the ATC classification. Drug name, indication and daily dosage were recorded. From authoritative international sources, we extracted for each drug and each indication a daily dosage recommended not to be exceeded in older adults for comparison with observed actual dosages.
resultsAmong the chronic benzodiazepine or z-drug (BZD/Z) users (50% of the residents), the leading indication was 'insomnia' (59% of the users) followed by 'anxiety' (17%) and 'unrest' (10%). In the chronic prescriptions of BZD/Zs indicated for insomnia, the actual daily dose exceeded the geriatric upper limit in 95% of lormetazepam prescriptions, 82% of zolpidem, 78% of zopiclone and 35% of lorazepam prescriptions. For anxiety, daily doses also exceeded the limit but not to the same extent. Multivariate analysis showed BZD/Z use was positively associated with pain (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.27-1.97), constipation (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.16-1.76) and depression (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.35-2.08). Residents with dementia were less likely to receive a BZD/Z (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.48-0.74).
conclusionEfforts to reduce the use of BZD/Zs in nursing homes should concentrate on insomnia, with interventions aimed at reducing too high prevalence of chronic use and too high daily dosages in this indication.
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