Many surgeons will prescribe an anti-anxiety drug like Ativan or Valium to patients to take right before surgery or patients may take one on their own. A French study says that premedicating with benzodiazepine drugs like these may not help and may interfere with recovery.
The clinical trial enrolled more than 1,000 patients about to have elective surgery with general anesthesia at five hospitals in France. They were randomly assigned to take either 2.5 milligrams of lorazepam (Ativan), a placebo, or no premedication before their surgery. They filled out a questionnaire on their satisfaction with their surgery a day after the surgery. Data was also collected on how long it took for breathing tubes to be removed and for cognitive function to return.
The researchers found that premedicating with Ativan did not improve patient satisfaction when compared to either the placebo or taking nothing. This was also true for a subgroup of patients who were especially anxious before surgery.
Ativan also seemed to lengthen recovery times. Breathing tube removal was delayed in patients who took Ativan compared to the placebo or nothing. Patients who took Ativan had their breathing tubes removed an average of 17 minutes after the end of surgery, compared to an average 12 minutes for the group that took nothing and 13 minutes for the group that took a placebo. The researchers called this a "modestly prolonged" time to removal of the breathing tube with Ativan.
Cognitive recovery was slower for the Ativan groups as well. It was best for the group that received nothing.
The overall conclusion of the study is that there appears to be a lack of benefit to the routine use of Ativan as a premedication in patients having surgery with general anesthesia.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
