The efficacy of benzodiazepines as acute anxiolytics in children: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Current practice guidelines do not recommend benzodiazepines for acute management of anxiety disorders in pediatric patients. However, in procedural settings, benzodiazepines are commonly used to relieve acute preprocedural stress. This meta-analysis examines the efficacy and tolerability of benzodiazepines as short-term anxiolytics in children. Method: PubMed was searched for randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of benzodiazepines as short-term anxiolytics in pediatric patients. Twenty-one trials involving 1,416 participants were included. A fixed effects model was used to examine the standardized mean difference of improvement in anxiety levels compared to control conditions. In stratified subgroup and meta-regression, the effect of the specific agent, dose, timing, and setting of benzodiazepine treatment was examined. Results: A significant benefit was seen for benzodiazepines compared to control (standardized mean difference = 0.71 [95% confidence interval, 0.60–0.82], k = 24, z = 12.7, P