Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Iatrogenic benzodiazepine withdrawal delirium in hospitalized older patients
1University of Toronto and the General Division of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
The purpose of this review was to identify cases of benzodiazepine withdrawal delirium in a population of older hospitalized patients and to determine whether the withdrawal was caused by iatrogenic factors.
Design:
Retrospective chart review of selected cases from a referred sample. A Bayesian Adverse Reactions Diagnosis Instrument (BARDI) was applied to cases of benzodiazepine withdrawal delirium to quantify the probability that drug withdrawal was the causative mechanism.
Setting:
A university-affiliated health sciences center.
Patients:
A review of the psychiatric consultation liaison service database for a consecutive 4-month period yielded 21 cases of delirium in a referred sample of 119 patients more than 65 years of age. Four cases of benzodiazepine withdrawal were identified within the group of patients with delirium, and retrospective chart review identified potential iatrogenic causes for withdrawal in three patients.
Results:
The posterior possibilities calculated by the BARDI for the three cases of delirium were 0.98, 0.95, and 0.75, indicating a high probability that the delirium was caused by benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Conclusions:
Benzodiazepine withdrawal delirium in older hospitalized patients may be associated with iatrogenic factors.
Related Concept Videos
CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines
Anxiolytic Drugs: Benzodiazepines and Buspirone
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. They bind to the GABAA receptor, increasing its affinity for GABA, which opens chloride...
Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

