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REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Psychopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1569416

BENZOS (AS) NEEDED: RESEARCH INTO AS-NEEDED AND INTERMITTENT BENZODIAZEPINES FOR ANXIETY IS REQUIRED FOR COMPREHENSIVE BEST PRESCRIBING PRACTICES

Provisionally accepted
  • Temple University, Philadelphia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The medical and public health communities are divided around the use of benzodiazepine (“benzo”) pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders. Recent years have seen increased attention to benzo overprescription and its risks, leading to a pervasive emphasis on deprescribing. Some have resisted this trend, arguing that the balance of evidence supports the safety and efficacy of benzo pharmacotherapy for both short-term and long-term treatment of anxiety disorders. Given that rising rates of anxiety disorders and benzo misuse are both serious public health concerns, there is an urgent need for comprehensive evidence-based best practices for the prescription of benzos for anxiety. At present, however, major scientific gaps make it impossible to formulate such guidance. Most concerning is the lack of research into as-needed and intermittent prescription and use, which are both what benzos are best suited for, and likely, how they are most commonly administered. Further research into the safety and efficacy of both long-term daily and intermittent, as-needed benzo prescription and use are badly needed. But a roundly “anti-benzo” sentiment may be causing problematic underprescription of benzos, particularly when superior alternatives like cognitive-behavioral therapy are not widely available.

    Keywords: Benzodiazepines, Anxiety disorder, Pharmacotherapy, best practices, Prescription drug safety, misprescription, As-needed, PRN

    Received: 31 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Apr 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Krieger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Arthur Krieger, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States

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