Sedative Drugs – Opiates and Sedatives

00:00 So let's talk a little bit about some of the other drugs.

00:02 The most effective anti-anxiety medications we have are benzodiazepines. These are drugs such as, Valium is the one that people remember, that's an older drug. Currently we use midazolam and lorazepam primarily.

00:20 We used to use these drugs as part of a pre-med, before the patient came to surgery, an hour or two before surgery. But this is largely been abandoned much to everyone's surprise. Patients found the sedation and the often accompanying amnesia associated with these drugs, to be unpleasant.

00:38 With very anxious patients, a drug such as midazolam, will bring some relief prior to induction of anesthesia. Plus the amnestic effect usually associated with the medication may reduce the possibility of recall during anesthesia.

00:56 These agents are generally utilized as sleep aids or anti-anxiety medications, and are not widely used for patients who are going to receive general anesthesia.

01:08 They are very effective however improving anxiety levels when patients are undergoing regional anesthesia or surgery under local anesthetic injection.