The Predictive Value of Benzodiazepine Tolerance in Persistently Aggressive Schizophrenia

The aim of this study was to determine whether benzodiazepine tolerance might provide a predictive marker for persistent aggression in schizophrenia. Seventy-seven male schizophrenic patients newly admitted to our psychiatric intensive care unit due to violent behavior during a 4-month period were examined. As a result, a high dose of benzodiazepine required for sedation or a short duration until regaining consciousness after the initial sedation, was related to severer aggression on waking up after sedation. Despite the small number of subjects examined, a conservative claim can be made that the level of the effect of benzodiazepine required for sedation seems to predict persistent severe aggression in schizophrenia.