ADVERSE REACTIONS TO SEDATIVE HYPNOTICS - 3 YEARS EXPERIENCE/

Reported adverse reactions to orally administered sedative/hypnotics w ere systematically recorded during a 3-year period in a 1,000-bed teac hing hospital. Reported cases were reviewed by a multidisciplinary com mittee and then by a pharmacist, and judgments were made as to type, s everity, and outcome of adverse reactions. Probability that the reacti on was caused by the medication was recorded in terms of both a global judgment and a systematic scale. The frequency of adverse reactions w as calculated as a percentage of total doses of each agent dispensed b y the pharmacy during the same time period. The assessment of benzodia zepine sedative/hypnotics indicated that adverse reactions were rare, ranging from frequencies of 0.05% of doses administered (lorazepam) to none (chlorazepate). The median frequency of reported adverse reactio ns was 0.01%, or 1 in 10,000 doses. The vast majority of reactions cou ld be viewed as extensions of the therapeutic effect, were considered mild, and were without sequelae. All adverse reactions occurred in pat ients over 55 years old except for four patients under age 50 who rece ived lorazepam. There were no reported cases of violent behavior or gl obal amnesia.