Skip to content
  • Report Harm
  • Newsletter
  • Shop
  • Media Kit
Facebook Linkedin Twitter RSS YouTube Instagram
Benzodiazepine Information Coalition
  • About BenzodiazepinesExpand
    • Benzo BasicsExpand
      • Ashton Manual
      • A Brief History Of Benzodiazepines
      • Class Actions and Lawsuits—and Reporting Harm 
      • FDA 2020 Benzodiazepine Boxed Warning
      • Medications and Supplements of Concern
      • Xanax Study Outcomes
    • PrescribingExpand
      • Addiction vs Physical Dependence
      • Genetic Testing
      • Informed Consent
      • Low Dose Benzodiazepines
      • Mechanism of Action
      • Prescribing Statistics
      • Steps to Reduce Benzodiazepine Overprescribing
      • Therapeutic Actions
    • Prescribing RisksExpand
      • Akathisia
      • Fluoroquinolones
      • Functional Brain Changes
      • Interdose Withdrawal
      • Paradoxical Reactions
      • Physical Dependence
      • Risks of Remaining on Benzodiazepines
      • Red Flags
      • Short-Term Risks
      • Side Effects
      • Suicide
      • Tolerance
    • DeprescribingExpand
      • Ashton Manual
      • Tapering Strategies and Solutions
      • Detox, Cold Turkey, Abrupt Cessation
      • Estimates of Withdrawal
      • How To Find Tapering Help
      • Dosages Prevent Safe Withdrawal
      • Why Patients Shouldn’t Go To Detox or Rehab
    • Desprescribing RisksExpand
      • Akathisia
      • Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome (BWS)
      • Forced Switching or Stopping
      • Functional Brain Changes
      • Kindling
      • Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome (PWS)
      • Suicide
      • Withdrawal & Post Withdrawal Symptoms
    • Special PopulationsExpand
      • Benzodiazepines and PTSD
      • Celebrities
      • COVID-19
      • Elderly
      • Women
      • Incarcerated Population
      • Substance Use Disorders
  • About UsExpand
    • Media Kit
    • VolunteerExpand
      • Media Interview List Registration
      • Informed Consent Policy
      • FDA Reporting Program
      • Share Your Story!
  • Our Impact
  • ResourcesExpand
    • Ashton Manual
    • Benzodiazepine Tapering Strategies and Solutions
    • Financial and Disability Information
    • How To Find Tapering Help
    • Benzodiazepine Cooperative Providers
  • Blog
  • Contact UsExpand
    • Receive Our Newsletter
  • Donate
Donate
Facebook Linkedin Twitter Phone RSS Instagram
Benzodiazepine Information Coalition

COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, anxiety levels across the world have increased. Benzodiazepines, like alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan) prescriptions have risen 34%, with anti-anxiety medications becoming easier to access through telemedicine. Benzodiazepines have played a dangerous role in COVID-19, both through the many risks of prescribing and the increased risk of respiratory complications and delirium.

A 2022 study found that benzodiazepine use increased the risk of hospitalization in covid-positive patients, but did not increase the risk of test positivity, severe outcomes, or mortality.

Benzodiazepines are potentially dangerous for those with pre-existing respiratory illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Long-term benzodiazepine use increases pneumonia risk. 

Delirium, a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment, is also a serious concern. The start of delirium is usually rapid, within a few hours or days.A significant percentage of individuals who are hospitalized for management of acute illness related to COVID-19 experience delirium and other severe neurologic symptoms. The Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship (CIBS) Center has started using the mnemonic device of F-COVID to help clinicians think about the causes of delirium during the pandemic and what will put a patient at higher risk of developing delirium in the ICU:

Family (and lack of visitation)
Clotting problems

Oxygenation issues
Virus itself
Immobilization
Drugs (eg, benzodiazepines)

According to E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine and critical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee delirium has increased through COVID-19. In a 2020 Infectious Special Edition interview he shared about a New England Journal of Medicine case series that came out in April. In it, 50 of 58 patients (86%) with COVID-19 received a benzodiazepine (midazolam). Dr. Ely noted that:

We’ve been working for 20 years, and we’ve reduced delirium down from 70% in ventilated patients to around 40%, but COVID-19 has got it back up to 80%. So in three months, we’re erased 20 years of progress.

He went on to share another alarming statistic:

We stopped using benzodiazepines years ago because of how deliriogenic they are. To see 86% of people on a ventilator getting a benzodiazepine is like going back to how we practiced in 1995.

Contact Us

Inquiries:
bic@benzoinfo.com

We do not offer any support services or guidance. See our resources for services and support.

Mailing Address:
1042 Ft. Union Blvd, PMB 1030
Midvale, Utah 84047

Support Us

We were formed to change the lack of knowledge in the public and the medical system. But we cannot do it alone. We rely solely on donations to operate. We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

DONATE

Newsletter

Receive the latest benzodiazepine activism news, events and calls to action.

Notices

Benzodiazepine Information Coalition is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.

EIN: 81-3442343

Privacy Policy
Medical Disclaimer
Terms and Conditions
Free Charity Hosting by Kualo

Twitter Facebook Linkedin YouTube Instagram

© 2022 Benzodiazepine Information Coalition

Scroll to top
  • About Benzodiazepines
    • Benzo Basics
      • Ashton Manual
      • A Brief History Of Benzodiazepines
      • Class Actions and Lawsuits—and Reporting Harm 
      • FDA 2020 Benzodiazepine Boxed Warning
      • Medications and Supplements of Concern
      • Xanax Study Outcomes
    • Prescribing
      • Addiction vs Physical Dependence
      • Genetic Testing
      • Informed Consent
      • Low Dose Benzodiazepines
      • Mechanism of Action
      • Prescribing Statistics
      • Steps to Reduce Benzodiazepine Overprescribing
      • Therapeutic Actions
    • Prescribing Risks
      • Akathisia
      • Fluoroquinolones
      • Functional Brain Changes
      • Interdose Withdrawal
      • Paradoxical Reactions
      • Physical Dependence
      • Risks of Remaining on Benzodiazepines
      • Red Flags
      • Short-Term Risks
      • Side Effects
      • Suicide
      • Tolerance
    • Deprescribing
      • Ashton Manual
      • Tapering Strategies and Solutions
      • Detox, Cold Turkey, Abrupt Cessation
      • Estimates of Withdrawal
      • How To Find Tapering Help
      • Dosages Prevent Safe Withdrawal
      • Why Patients Shouldn’t Go To Detox or Rehab
    • Desprescribing Risks
      • Akathisia
      • Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome (BWS)
      • Forced Switching or Stopping
      • Functional Brain Changes
      • Kindling
      • Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome (PWS)
      • Suicide
      • Withdrawal & Post Withdrawal Symptoms
    • Special Populations
      • Benzodiazepines and PTSD
      • Celebrities
      • COVID-19
      • Elderly
      • Women
      • Incarcerated Population
      • Substance Use Disorders
  • About Us
    • Media Kit
    • Volunteer
      • Media Interview List Registration
      • Informed Consent Policy
      • FDA Reporting Program
      • Share Your Story!
  • Our Impact
  • Resources
    • Ashton Manual
    • Benzodiazepine Tapering Strategies and Solutions
    • Financial and Disability Information
    • How To Find Tapering Help
    • Benzodiazepine Cooperative Providers
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Receive Our Newsletter
  • Donate
Search
Open toolbar

Accessibility Tools

  • Increase Text
  • Decrease Text
  • Grayscale
  • High Contrast
  • Negative Contrast
  • Light Background
  • Links Underline
  • Readable Font
  • Reset