Fall Risk and Benzos – Is Trazodone Really the Knight in Shining Armor?

Older adults are often tormented by insomnia, pain, and other comorbidities that impact their quality of life.  Medication therapy is often sought to treat and manage these diseases, but healthcare providers often overlook the risks of prescribing medications to patients who are older, frail, and at high risk for falls.  Trazodone is increasingly prescribed for insomnia instead of benzodiazepines presumably because it is considered to be safer and it does not appear on either the Beers or STOP/START lists.  But is trazodone really safer for patients than benzodiazepines?

Guest Authors:  Anthony M. Todd, PharmD and Nicole A Slater, PharmD, BCACP

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