This research, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, also showed that benzodiazepine use increased the risk of delirium by 60%, while visiting family, even virtually, reduced the risk by 30%.

Benzodiazepines can also cause delirium in patients who have other risk factors for delirium, such as dementia.” What else you need to know: Benzodiazepines act as a sedative.

By the mid-2000s they knew ICU delirium was an independent predictor of death, more delirium led to higher mortality, and benzodiazepines as sedation were increasing delirium.

Now, during COVID-19 pandemic, those rates of delirium are back in the 80% range, and reports from ICUs show that use of benzodiazepines have risen sharply to more than 80%, as well, explained Pun.

Delirium may accompany 60% of the acute illnesses and adverse health events that occur commonly among residents, investigators say. Along with infections, regular use of benzodiazepines was linked ...

While other studies have linked benzodiazepines to delirium and oversedation, the AJRCCM study did not report data on delirium rates, benzodiazepine dosing, or protocols for daily sedation holidays.

Benzodiazepines are used to treat anxiety and insomnia, symptoms they can effectively resolve, at least in the short term. Textbooks euphemistically call these drugs anxiolytics and hypnotics. An ...

For some people, taking anxiety medications is the best way to help them keep functioning throughout the day. But how can this affect a person's dementia risk?

E. Avoid benzodiazepines: Clinicians should avoid administering benzodiazepines because they can cause prolonged sedation or increased delirium.

Just how much did delirium rise? The rate of delirium increased from 35.9 per 1,000 admitted people before the pandemic to 41.5 per 1,000 admitted people during the first two years of the pandemic.

As the impact of delirium has come into sharper focus over the last two decades, critical care doctors and nurses have changed the way they treat patients. The use of benzodiazepines has dropped off.