A large family of drugs used as HYPNOTICS, ANXIOLYTICS, TRANQUILLISERS, ANTICONVULSANTS, in premedication before anaesthesia, and for intravenous sedation, usually before performing an uncomfortable procedure such as ENDOSCOPY. Short-acting varieties are used as HYPNOTICS; longer-acting ones as hypnotics and TRANQUILLISERS. Those with high lipid solubility act rapidly if given intravenously. For example, diazepam is used as a first line treatment to stop an epileptic fit.

Benzodiazepines have advantages over other sedatives by diminishing anxiety rather than being generally sedating. They are safer in overdose. Unfortunately they may cause aggression, amnesia, excessive sedation and, in the elderly, confusion. Those which are longer acting may produce a hangover effect, and DEPENDENCE may result so official advice is that they should not be prescribed for more than a few weeks. Commonly used benzodiazepines include nitrazepam, flunitrazepam (a controlled drug), loprazolam, temazepam (a controlled drug) and chlormethiazole, the last normally confined to the elderly.