Prescribing benzodiazepines in the elderly
Benzodiazepines and antipsychotics have been widely known as an indicator that could considerably raise older patients’ risk of falls, fractures, and even mortality.25,26 However, these medications are commonly prescribed in China due to an insufficient vigilance of adverse outcomes that they might bring about. In the present study, 80.5% of insomnia patients were taking at least one benzodiazepine, in majority due to the common complaining of sleep disorders.
Suspending the use of benzodiazepines and choosing other alternative drugs that lead to a lower risk of falls could hopefully minimize the possibility of relevant adverse outcomes, which in turn, avoids unnecessary healthcare spending in both resources and expenditures.27 Thus, we suggest physicians and pharmacists to pay more attention in the prescribing of benzodiazepines for elderly patients, particularly long-acting benzodiazepines.