Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T09:07:41.419Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Chronic Benzodiazepine Dependence

A Comparative Study of Abrupt Withdrawal under Propranolol Cover Versus Gradual Withdrawal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

T. Cantopher ,
S. Olivieri ,
N. Cleave  and
J. Guy Edwards
T. Cantopher*
Affiliation:
Abraham Cowley Unit, St Peter's Hospital, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0PZ and Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
S. Olivieri
Affiliation:
Park Prewett Hospital, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 9LZ
N. Cleave
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics and Computational Mathematics, Liverpool University, Liverpool L69 3BX
J. Guy Edwards
Affiliation:
Royal South Hants Hospital, Southampton, Hants SO9 4PE
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Thirty-one patients dependent on benzodiazepines were randomly assigned to either slow withdrawal (SW) or abrupt withdrawal under propranolol cover (PW). Of 16 patients in the SW group, 11 successfully withdrew from their drugs, while only 4 out of 15 in the PW group did so. Patients in the SW group had only mild withdrawal symptoms, while those in the PW group suffered more severe symptoms, which lasted around four weeks. In all, 81 % of the whole group suffered withdrawal symptoms of some kind. Patients in both groups were significantly less anxious at the end of the study than at baseline. Younger subjects and those who were more severely anxious at the start of the trial had more difficulty in withdrawing than older and less anxious patients.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 3 , March 1990 , pp. 406 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashton, H. (1984) Benzodiazepine withdrawal; an unfinished story. British Medical Journal, 288, 1135–1140.Google Scholar
Ashton, H. (1989) Risks of dependence on benzodiazepine drugs: a major problem of long term treatment. British Medical Journal, 298, 103–104.Google Scholar
Bustro, U., Sellers, E., Naranjo, C., et al (1986a) Patterns of benzodiazepine abuse and dependence. British Journal of Addiction, 81, 87–94.Google Scholar
Bustro, U., Sellers, E., Naranjo, C., et al (1986b) Withdrawal reaction after long-term therapeutic use of benzodiazepines. New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 854–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casey, P. & Tyrer, P. J. (1986) Personality, functioning and symptomatology. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 20, 363–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Committee on Safety of Medicines (1988) Benzodiazepines, dependence and withdrawal symptoms. Current Problems, 21, 1–2.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. G., Cantopher, T. & Olivieri, S. (1990) Benzodiazepine dependence and the problems of withdrawal. Postgraduate Medical Journal (in press).Google Scholar
Fontaine, R., Chouinard, G. & Annable, L. (1984) Rebound anxiety in anxious patients after abrupt withdrawal of benzodiazepine treatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 848–852.Google Scholar
Hamilton, M. (1959) A rating scale for anxiety. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 32, 50–55.Google Scholar
Kearns, N., Cruikshank, K., McGuigan, S., et al (1982) A comparison of depression rating scales. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 45–49.Google Scholar
Klotz, U., Avant, G., Hoyumpa, A., et al (1975) The effects of age and the elimination of diazepam in adult man. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 55, 347–359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lader, M. & Higgitt, A. (1986) The management of benzodiazepine dependence - update 1986. British Journal of Addiction, 81, 7–10.Google Scholar
Marks, J. (1978) The Benzodiazepines- Use, Overuse, Misuse, Abuse. Lancaster: MTP Press.Google Scholar
Miller, R. (1981) Simultaneous Statistical Inference. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, R. & Tyrer, P. (1983) Benzodiazepine dependence - a review of the evidence. Drugs, 25, 385–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petursson, H. & Lader, M. (1981a) Benzodiazepine dependence. British Journal of Addiction, 76, 133–145.Google Scholar
Petursson, H. & Lader, M. (1981b) Withdrawal from long term benzodiazepine treatment. British Medical Journal, 283, 643–645.Google Scholar
Petursson, H. & Lader, M. (1984) Benzodiazepine tolerance and withdrawal syndrome. In Advances in Human Psychopharmacology (eds Burrows, G. & Werry, J.), pp. 89–119. Greenwich, Connecticut: JIAI Press.Google Scholar
Rickels, K., Case, G., Downing, R. W., et al (1983) Long-term diazepam therapy and clinical outcome. Journal of the American Medical Association, 250, 767–771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyrer, P. (1988) Dependence as a limiting factor in the clinical use of minor tranquillizers. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 36, 173–187.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P., Rutherford, D. & Huggett, T. (1981) Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms and propranolol. Lancet, i, 520–522.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P., Owen, R. & Dawling, S. (1983) Gradual withdrawal of diazepam after chronic treatment. Lancet, i, 1402–1406.Google Scholar
Zigmond, A. & Snaith, R. (1983) The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 86, 1–7.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.