Adult: 2.5 to 5 mg 2 times daily for 2 to 3 weeks max. reducing the dose by half the last days before stopping treatment
Insomnia
Adult: 2 to 5 mg once daily at bedtime for 7 days max.
Agitation
Adult: 10 mg single dose
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
Do not administer to patients with severe respiratory insufficiency, severe hepatic impairment or acute alcohol intoxication.
Administer with caution:
to older patients and patients with renal or hepatic impairment (reduce the dose by half);
to patients with history of drug/substance abuse or mental health disorders.
May cause:
hypotension, muscle weakness, ataxia, hypotonia, drowsiness (caution when driving/operatingmachinery), lethargy, confusion,impaired concentration, memory loss, hyperactive or aggressive behaviour;
withdrawal syndrome or rebound effect if prolonged treatment is discontinued abruptly;
respiratory depression and coma in the event of overdose.
Avoid or monitor in combination with:
drugs containing alcohol, opioid analgesics, antipsychotics, first-generation antihistamines (hydroxyzine, promethazine), antidepressants, other antiseizure medications, etc. (increased sedation);
enzyme inducerssuch as rifampicin, rifabutin, nevirapine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, etc. (reduced effect of diazepam);
omeprazole, macrolides, ritonavir, isoniazid, fluconazole, itraconazole, etc. (increased diazepam toxicity);
phenytoin (increased phenytoin toxicity).
Avoid alcohol during treatment(increased risk of adverse effects).
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: avoid (passage through the placenta and breast milk)
Remarks
Diazepam is subject to international controls:follow national regulations.
Diazepam is also used in the treatment of pre-delirium tremens (alcohol withdrawal) in adults: 10 mg every 6 hours for 1 to 3 days, then reduce and stop over 7 days.