Study, Jul/18: "Benzodiazepine Use and Neuropsychiatric Outcomes in the ICU"

The full title of this Dutch study is "Benzodiazepine Use and Neuropsychiatric Outcomes in the ICU: A Systematic Review".

 

"CONCLUSIONS:  The majority of included studies indicated that benzodiazepine use in the ICU is associated with delirium, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. Future well-designed studies and randomized controlled trials are necessary to rule out confounding by indication."

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29985215

I have been wondering what happens to people who have to be kept in medically induced comas.

 

It doesn’t say anything about reasons or doses in the abstract.

 

Interesting though.

Yes, unfortunately, we can't access the whole study without paying, so it's hard to find out the details. Nevertheless, I've come across a number of abstracts on this topic, and they all seem to be saying similar things. That is, benzo use in the ICU tends to create more complicated or worse outcomes for patients. There may be exceptions, of course, but when I've posted such abstracts before, they have said similar things.