Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Summary of treatment modalities in psychiatric disorders
- Part III Specific treatments
- 9 Delirium
- 10 Management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and acquired brain injury
- 11 Dementia: pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and guideline review
- 12 Pharmacological treatment of psychosis and depression in neurological disease in older adults
- 13 Psychological treatments of alcohol use disorders
- 14 Pharmacotherapy of alcohol misuse, dependence and withdrawal
- 15 Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders
- 16 Complex interventions for alcohol use disorders
- 17 Complementary and alternative medicine for alcohol misuse
- 18 Empirically validated psychological therapies for drug dependence
- 19 Treatment of stimulant dependence
- 20 Treatment of opioid dependence
- 21 Treatment of sedative-hypnotic dependence
- 22 Treatment of cannabis dependence
- 23 Treatment of nicotine dependence
- 24 Treatment of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders
- 25 Pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia
- 26 Psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia
- 27 Psychopharmacology of mood disorders
- 28 Efficacy of brain stimulation and neurosurgical procedures for treatment of mood disorders
- 29 Psychotherapy for depression: current empirical status and future directions
- 30 Alternative therapies for mood disorders
- 31 Treatment of generalised anxiety and somatoform disorders
- 32 Panic disorder
- 33 Specific phobias and agoraphobia
- 34 Social phobia
- 35 Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- 36 Post-traumatic stress disorders and adjustment disorders
- 37 Psychopharmacology of eating disorders
- 38 Other somatic physical treatments and complex interventions for eating disorders
- 39 Psychological treatments for eating disorders
- 40 Educational interventions for eating disorders
- 41 Alternative treatments for eating disorders
- 42 Complex treatments for eating disorders
- 43 Personality disorder
- 44 Other treatments for persistent disturbances of behaviour
- 45 Effectiveness of treatments of sexual disorders
- 46 Disorders of gender identity
- 47 Psychological treatments for children and adolescents
- 48 Drugs and other physical treatments
- 49 Educational interventions and alternative treatments
- 50 Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder
- 51 Feeding and sleeping disorders in infancy and early childhood
- 52 Evaluating interventions for children with autism and intellectual disabilities
- 53 ADHD and hyperkinetic disorder
- 54 Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder
- 55 Treatment of depressive disorders in children and adolescents
- 56 Treatment of psychoses in children and adolescents
- 57 Anxiety disorders
- 58 Treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents
- Appendix I Summary of specific drugs having evidence of effectiveness in mental disorders
- Appendix II Key to effectiveness tables
- Index
- References
21 - Treatment of sedative-hypnotic dependence
from Part III - Specific treatments
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Summary of treatment modalities in psychiatric disorders
- Part III Specific treatments
- 9 Delirium
- 10 Management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and acquired brain injury
- 11 Dementia: pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and guideline review
- 12 Pharmacological treatment of psychosis and depression in neurological disease in older adults
- 13 Psychological treatments of alcohol use disorders
- 14 Pharmacotherapy of alcohol misuse, dependence and withdrawal
- 15 Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders
- 16 Complex interventions for alcohol use disorders
- 17 Complementary and alternative medicine for alcohol misuse
- 18 Empirically validated psychological therapies for drug dependence
- 19 Treatment of stimulant dependence
- 20 Treatment of opioid dependence
- 21 Treatment of sedative-hypnotic dependence
- 22 Treatment of cannabis dependence
- 23 Treatment of nicotine dependence
- 24 Treatment of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders
- 25 Pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia
- 26 Psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia
- 27 Psychopharmacology of mood disorders
- 28 Efficacy of brain stimulation and neurosurgical procedures for treatment of mood disorders
- 29 Psychotherapy for depression: current empirical status and future directions
- 30 Alternative therapies for mood disorders
- 31 Treatment of generalised anxiety and somatoform disorders
- 32 Panic disorder
- 33 Specific phobias and agoraphobia
- 34 Social phobia
- 35 Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- 36 Post-traumatic stress disorders and adjustment disorders
- 37 Psychopharmacology of eating disorders
- 38 Other somatic physical treatments and complex interventions for eating disorders
- 39 Psychological treatments for eating disorders
- 40 Educational interventions for eating disorders
- 41 Alternative treatments for eating disorders
- 42 Complex treatments for eating disorders
- 43 Personality disorder
- 44 Other treatments for persistent disturbances of behaviour
- 45 Effectiveness of treatments of sexual disorders
- 46 Disorders of gender identity
- 47 Psychological treatments for children and adolescents
- 48 Drugs and other physical treatments
- 49 Educational interventions and alternative treatments
- 50 Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder
- 51 Feeding and sleeping disorders in infancy and early childhood
- 52 Evaluating interventions for children with autism and intellectual disabilities
- 53 ADHD and hyperkinetic disorder
- 54 Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder
- 55 Treatment of depressive disorders in children and adolescents
- 56 Treatment of psychoses in children and adolescents
- 57 Anxiety disorders
- 58 Treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents
- Appendix I Summary of specific drugs having evidence of effectiveness in mental disorders
- Appendix II Key to effectiveness tables
- Index
- References
Summary
Editor's note
Misuse and dependence upon benzodiazepines, despite much greater awareness of the dangers of these drugs, still appear to be growing problems. Misuse occurs because of dependency upon these drugs that have been prescribed for extended periods with some increasing tolerance on the part of the patient. Misuse also occurs by people who purchase or obtain these drugs by means other than prescription. The growing emphasis on insomnia and the increasing competition among various drug companies to capture the prescription sleeping pill market appears to exacerbate this problem. At the moment, a gradual tapering of the prescribed or illegally used drug, especially by substituting a longer-acting drug for a shorter-acting drug, appears to have the most supporting evidence. Little research has been done on hypnotics compared with the benzodiazepines, and this is a bit of a puzzle.
Introduction
Sedative hypnotic drugs are central nervous system depressants traditionally used to reduce anxiety and induce sleep. The sedatives under consideration in this chapter are benzodiazepines, the Z-drugs (zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon) and barbiturates. After their introduction in 1903, barbiturates were supplanted by the benzodiazepines which were introduced in the early 1960s. This was primarily due to concerns about the obvious toxicity of barbiturates, particularly in overdose, and knowledge of their propensity for dependence. After reaching a peak in the early 1980s, prescriptions for benzodiazepines in the UK have shown a substantial reduction; however, while annual prescriptions for benzodiazepines in England fell from 10 million to around 6 million between 1993–2003, those for the Z-drugs rose from 0.3 million to over 4 million over the same time period, mainly in older people (DoH, 2003), and this is a worldwide phenomenon.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry , pp. 402 - 412Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008