Valium (Diazepam) - Summary

VALIUM SUMMARY

VALIUM^® C IV
brand of
diazepam
TABLETS

Valium (diazepam) is a benzodiazepine derivative.

Valium is indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic.

In acute alcohol withdrawal, Valium may be useful in the symptomatic relief of acute agitation, tremor, impending or acute delirium tremens and hallucinosis.

Valium is a useful adjunct for the relief of skeletal muscle spasm due to reflex spasm to local pathology (such as inflammation of the muscles or joints, or secondary to trauma); spasticity caused by upper motor neuron disorders (such as cerebral palsy and paraplegia); athetosis; and stiff-man syndrome.

Oral Valium may be used adjunctively in convulsive disorders, although it has not proved useful as the sole therapy.

The effectiveness of Valium in long-term use, that is, more than 4 months, has not been assessed by systematic clinical studies. The physician should periodically reassess the usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Media Articles Related to Valium (Diazepam)

Man Sentenced For Sale And Supply Of Controlled And Counterfeit Drugs
Source: Litigation / Medical Malpractice News From Medical News Today [2009.11.05]
A 41-year-old man, Mr Harish Gami, received an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years at Aylesbury Crown Court today for the illicit sale and supply of controlled drugs as well as counterfeit and unlicensed medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) discovered more than 86,000 Valium tablets and a further 11,500 medicinal products in an undercover investigation into Gami's illegal online dealing.

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Published Studies Related to Valium (Diazepam)

High-dose diazepam facilitates core cooling during cold saline infusion in healthy volunteers. [2009.08]
Studies have suggested that inducing mild hypothermia improves neurologic outcomes after traumatic brain injury, major stroke, cardiac arrest, or exertional heat illness.Administration of high-dose diazepam resulted in decreased oxygen consumption during cold saline infusion, suggesting that 20 mg of intravenous diazepam may reduce the shivering threshold without compromising respiratory or cardiovascular function.

Bioavailability and tolerability of intranasal diazepam in healthy adult volunteers. [2009.04]
Intranasal therapy has been proposed as an alternative for the management of seizure emergencies. The bioavailability, dose proportionality and tolerability of a supersaturated intranasal formulation of diazepam (DZP) solubilized in a glycofurol-water cosolvent system was investigated... Our formulation provided reasonable bioavailability, but was not well tolerated.

Lorazepam versus diazepam-phenytoin combination in the treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in children: A randomized controlled trial. [2009.03.16]
BACKGROUND: Convulsive status epilepticus demands urgent and appropriate management with anticonvulsants. Intravenous diazepam is an established drug in the management of convulsive status epilepticus in adults as well as in children. The efficacy of intravenous lorazepam has not been well established in children. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether intravenous lorazepam is as efficacious as diazepam-phenytoin combination in the treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in children. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial... CONCLUSION: Lorazepam is as efficacious and safe as diazepam-phenytoin combination. We recommend use of lorazepam as a single drug to replace the two drug combination of diazepam-phenytoin combination to control the initial seizure in pediatric convulsive status epilepticus.

The cardiopulmonary effects of anesthetic induction with isoflurane, ketamine-diazepam or propofol-diazepam in the hypovolemic dog. [2009.03]
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the cardiopulmonary effects of induction of anesthesia with isoflurane (Iso), ketamine-diazepam (KD), or propofol-diazepam (PD) in hypovolemic dogs.

Efficacy of buccal midazolam compared to intravenous diazepam in controlling convulsions in children: A randomized controlled trial. [2008.12.27]
A study was done to examine the efficacy of buccal midazolam in controlling convulsion in children by comparing it with intravenous diazepam, a standard mode of treating convulsions. One hundred and twenty cases presenting with convulsions to emergency were treated randomly with either buccal midazolam (in a dose of 0.2mg/kg) or intravenous diazepam (in a dose of 0.3mg/kg)...

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Clinical Trials Related to Valium (Diazepam)

A Comparison of Lorazepam and Diazepam in the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal [Completed]
The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of two commonly used medications in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, diazepam and lorazepam.

Comparison Between Nurse-Administered Propofol Sedation and Diazemuls / Pethidine in Outpatient Colonoscopy [Completed]
Colonoscopy is a common endoscopic procedure as an investigation of colorectal pathology. Different modalities of pain control have been described in the past. Propofol is a perfect drug for endoscopic procedure since it has the characteristic of fast onset, short half-life and early recovery. Its unfamiliarity and its potential cardiovascular and respiratory side effect make it unpopular to endoscopists. Recent reports showed propofol is safe in bolus titration by nurse in Caucasian in all endoscopic procedures. Our previous pilot study showed nurse administered propofol sedation (NAPS) is effective and safe and highly acceptable by Chinese patients. Here we conduct a randomized controlled study to compare the effectiveness of NAPS versus traditional sedation.

Exploring the Effects of Diazepam and Lorazepam [Recruiting]
Aims :

- exploring lorazepam (0. 038 mg/kg)effects, after a single oral intake, in healthy

volunteers, on the neural correlates of encoding and retrieval of information during a word-stem completion task (implicit memory), using fMRI

- comparing lorazepam effects to diazepam (0. 3 mg/kg)effects

- exploring benzodiazepines effects, after a single oral intake, on the neural correlates

of successful encoding of information within explicit memory using fMRI

Hypothesis :

- both diazepam and lorazepam will impair explicit memory performance, but lorazepam only

will impair perceptual priming

- lorazepam and diazepam will modify the normal correlates of information encoding wthin

explicit memory

- lorazepam only will alter the neural corraltes of perceptual priming

Intranasal Midazolam Versus Rectal Diazepam for Treatment of Seizures [Recruiting]
The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial comparing the use of nasal midazolam, using a Mucosal Atomization Devise, to rectal diazepam for the treatment of acute seizure activity in children under the age of 18 years with epilepsy in the community setting. The primary hypothesis is that nasal midazolam will be more effective and have shorter seizure time compared to rectal diazepam in the community. The secondary hypotheses are that patients treated with nasal midazolam will have fewer respiratory complications, emergency department visits, and admissions.

Efficacy and Safety Study Comparing Lorazepam and Diazepam for Children in the Emergency Department With Seizures [Recruiting]
Children with seizures are frequently seen in the emergency department. The drug lorazepam, which is commonly used, is not labeled by the US Food and Drug Administration for children for this use. The FDA, under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, has requested that a study comparing diazepam, a drug that is labeled by the FDA for this indication, with lorazepam be performed. The study will show whether one drug is more effective and safe than the other.

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PATIENT REVIEWS / RATINGS / COMMENTS

Valium review by 53 year old male patient
		Rating
Overall rating:
Effectiveness:		Highly Effective
Side effects:		No Side Effects
		Treatment Info
Condition / reason:		anxiety/depression
Dosage & duration:		5mg taken 3 times daily for the period of still taking
Other conditions:		depression
Other drugs taken:		paxil
		Reported Results
Benefits:		The paxil ,valium combination releived my symtoms.
Side effects:		No side effects from valium,side effects from paxil were ,feeling off balance,sharp pains in the eyes,sexual disfunction. Finally went off paxil.
Comments:		I was prescribed paxil for depression, it worked but the side effects became to much after about 2 yrs, but for those 2 yrs . my depression and axiety were under control. The valium does releive my anxiety symtoms . I was taking 20 mg paxil one time a day at waking and 5 mg valium 3 times a day if i was feeling nervous. Have since started taking a vitamin called GH3 and a liquid multi vitamin with cannibis at bed time, have been depression and anxiety free for one year.

Valium review by 35 year old female patient
		Rating
Overall rating:
Effectiveness:		Highly Effective
Side effects:		Mild Side Effects
		Treatment Info
Condition / reason:		sciatica and low back pain
Dosage & duration:		5 mg taken 1x a day for the period of 6 months
Other conditions:		none
Other drugs taken:		none
		Reported Results
Benefits:		i had a severe fall and tore the psoas muscle and damaged the SI joint. Before i was in great physical shape. After I could barely walk a block. After PT which only mildly helped I asked for various meds. Vicodin helped some but left me hung over. Valium released the muscle seizures and allowed me slowly to return to exercise. It's not used much now that there's Flexeril, but F. can lead to depression and doesn't as effectively release muscle tension (in my case).
Side effects:		some sluggishness in the early morning, and sometimes an overall sense of dehydration, but that can be countered with drinking lots of fluids.
Comments:		I determined that the best solution was to take it before bed--i could sleep through the night with it, whereas without I often woke up and had to take more ibuprofen and still slept poorly.

Valium review by 40 year old female patient
		Rating
Overall rating:
Effectiveness:		Considerably Effective
Side effects:		Mild Side Effects
		Treatment Info
Condition / reason:		anxiety
Dosage & duration:		5mg taken only when necessary for the period of 3-6 months
Other conditions:		depression due to loss of close family member
Other drugs taken:		marvelon
		Reported Results
Benefits:		Helped greatly in as much as wasnt crying as much and was able to sleep a little better.
Side effects:		only that it made me a bit lethargic but not noticeably so.
Comments:		Would only take a tablet when I was feeling particularly vulnerable for example at the funeral and times when feeling overcome. I think that this is the best thing about valium you only have to take it when you really need it and it works almost immediately and for me without undesirable side effects. You just have to be careful and not take constantly for long periods of time.I know of many people who have been prescribed the newer anti depressants and have gone through the most horrendous side effects, personally I wouldnt touch them.