World Health Organization does not recommend benzodiazepines for trauma

Hi Everyone,

Here's a media release, dated August 6, 2013, from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other traumatic events. Note that benzodiazepines are NOT recommended due to tolerance, lack of evidence of benefits and existence of withdrawal syndrome.

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/trauma_mental_health_20130806/en/

Here's an excerpt:

Warnings against some popular treatments

Primary health care staff are also warned against certain popular treatments. For example, benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety drugs, should not be offered to reduce acute traumatic stress symptoms or sleep problems in the first month after a potentially traumatic event.

“PTSD needs to be managed along with other common mental disorders” reports Dr Mark van Ommeren, Scientist in the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. “This new, simple WHO-UNHCR treatment protocol will guide health workers around the world to help adults and children who suffer from conditions specifically related to stress.” The new guidelines and protocol were published today in an article in "The Journal of the American Medical Association".

Additional information

There is no evidence on the benefits of benzodiazepines, a common anti-anxiety drug, on symptoms of traumatic stress after a recent potentially traumatic event. Benzodiazepines may slow down the time to recover from potentially traumatic events.

Key concerns about the use of benzodiazepines are that many people develop tolerance to their effects, gain little therapeutic benefit from chronic consumption, become dependent on them and suffer a withdrawal syndrome when they stop taking them.

Thus, the WHO recommendation is that benzodiazepines should not be offered to adults to reduce acute traumatic stress symptoms associated with significant impairment in daily functioning in the first month after a potentially traumatic event.

The WHO recommendation also notes that benzodiazepines can have their use for other mental disorders.