A survey of child and adolescent psychiatrists describes caution about lorazepam for sleep problems, while leaving treatment efficacy unresolved.
Sixty-seven active Canadian child and adolescent psychiatrists completed the survey. Melatonin was the most frequent first choice for sleep disturbance in young people with depression. Lorazepam was among drugs rarely prescribed because of concerns including evidence gaps, safety, suitability for youth, and dependence or tolerance.
Respondents rated medications and reported their preferences; patients were not randomized and sleep outcomes were not independently measured. Low response and the respondents’ professional profile limit generalizability. The paper therefore cannot establish that an alternative is safer or more effective than lorazepam, nor quantify benzodiazepine harm in adolescents. Its value is identifying how clinicians weighed uncertainty and where empirical research was lacking. A clinical-record analysis should separate the prescriber’s rationale from actual patient response and documented adverse effects.
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC7063733.