Searching for factors that may reduce the use of benzodiazepines in hospitals - a survey of hospital doctors and nurses

Abstract

A chart review at a mid-sized German general hospital found a high usage of benzodiazepines among older patients. Therefore, all doctors and nurses of this hospital were surveyed about the benefits and risks of benzodiazepines that they considered to be the strongest and their own overall assessment of the risk-benefit ratio for their patients Response rate was 54% (63/116) for doctors and 30% (73/243) for nurses. "Reduced fear or agitation" was perceived by many doctors (71%) and nurses (49%) to be a strong benefit of benzodiazepines. With regards to the overall risk-benefit ratio, doctors who indicated that "falls" and/or "craving" often occur in combination with benzodiazepines were more likely to estimate that the risks of benzodiazepines outweigh the benefits. For nurses, "confusion" strongly influenced their overall assessment of the risk-benefit ratio. The results of this study will be incorporated into interventions for reducing benzodiazepine prescriptions. .