Benzodiazepines in developing countries : not for domination yet

Abstract EN

Since their introduction in the 1960s, benzodiazepines (BZDs), have readily gained a wide popularity and become one of the most widely prescribed psychiatric drugs.

However, they have recently come under a critical reappraisal, on account of their potential harm if abused, or dependence with long term use.

Consequently, many psychiatrists have become over reluctant to prescribe these drugs, to the extent that many patients, even those severely anxious, who will never live normally without BZDs, or a similar substitute have been refused them.

We studied 400 case notes of patients diagnosed as suffering from anxiety or a related disorder in two different hospitals to find out the pattern of BZD prescriptions in Saudi Arabia.

We found that the pattern is inconsistent and varies significantly between the two hospitals and not necessarily for medical reasons.

We highlight the danger of such attitudes , and the place of BZDs in developing countries.