Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Benzodiazepine Use In Medical Out-Patient Clinics: A Study From A Developing Country, Muhammad Junaid Patel, Syed Ahmer, Faheem Khan, Abdullah Waqar Ahmed Qureshi, Muhammad Farrukh Shehzad, Sania Muzaffar

Section of Internal Medicine

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Benzodiazepine use in the outpatient setting of general medicine clinics at a single tertiary care centre.

Methods: The prospective prevalence study was conducted in the outpatient setting of Internal Medicine Clinics at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from November to December 2009. All subjects were interviewed after informed consent and variables were recorded on a specially-designed proforma. Apart from basic demographics and comorbid conditions, duration, frequency and route of benzodiazepine use, as well as the reason and who initiated it was noted. Chi-square test and t test was applied to see the …

Benzodiazepine: Slow Sand Of Addiction, Haider Naqvi, Sajjad Hussan, Fatema Dossa

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

Pattern Of Benzodiazepine Use In Psychiatric Outpatients In Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Survey., Syed Ahmer, Sumera Salamat, Rashid Am Khan, Saleem Perwaiz Iqbal, Imran Ijaz Haider, Ayesha Shabaz Khan, Mohsan Zafar

Department of Psychiatry

Background: Benzodiazepines (BDZ) are the largest-selling drug group in the world. The potential of dependence with BDZ has been known for almost three decades now. In countries like Pakistan where laws against unlicensed sale of BDZ are not implemented vigorously the risk of misuse of and dependence on these drugs is even higher. Previous studies have shown that BDZ prevalence among Patients/visitors to general outPatient clinics in Pakistan may be as high as 30%. However, no research has been carried out on the prevalence of BDZ use in psychiatric Patients in Pakistan. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional survey over …

Benzodiazepine Self-Poisoning In Pakistan: Implications For Prevention And Harm Reduction, M M. Khan, Hashim Reza

Department of Psychiatry

The pattern of all index admissions for benzodiazepine self-poisoning to a university hospital in Karachi, Pakistan are described. Of the 329 medication self-poisoning cases, 84% were benzodiazepine overdoses. Diazepam was the preferred drug in 69% of these cases, with majority ingesting between 20-30 tablets of 5 mg each, 44% bought the benzodiazepine over the counter (OTC) for the purpose of overdose. The preference for benzodiazepines over analgesics (as freely available) may be related to the motives underlying parasuicide acts and their popularity as 'sleeping pills' in Pakistan. Educating the 'chemist' and limiting the number of tablets dispensed at a time …