Benzodiazepine Withdrawal - Does This Lead to an Increase in the Use of Antipsychotics?

Abstract

Introduction: In 2004, two Danish GPs in the town of Thyboron introduced a more restrictive approach to the prescription of benzodiazepines (BD) and cyclopyrrolones (CP). A prescription could only be renewed following personal consultation, and medication could only be prescribed for one month at a time. Every month, the practitioner and the pa- tient had to consider whether current levels of consumption were appropriate or whether a reduction was to be imple- mented. This approach reduced the consumption of anxiolytics and hypnotics by 87% and 92%, respectively, over a 3- year period. There is a general paucity of knowledge as to whether an intervention such as the one described above actu- ally reduces drug consumption, or merely transfers consumption to other drugs, where especially antipsychotics (AP) are in the spotlight. Materials and Methods: The current article describes the consumption of AP before and after the intervention. Consump- tion was followed via the Danish Medicines Agency's website Ordiprax, where one can determine the amount of prescrip- tion medications sold in pharmacies by individual medical practices. Results: In both practices, a non-significant increase in the overall consumption of AP was observed during the course of the intervention against BD and CP. Although the consumption of some AP subgroups experienced a significant increase, no specific pattern could be observed. Conclusion: The intervention against BD and CP did not result in a significant increase in total prescription volumes of AP. It cannot be excluded that the intervention influenced individual prescriptions.