Survey of the adjuvant use of benzodiazepines for treating outpatients with schizophrenia.

A retrospective survey of the use of benzodiazepines by 149 outpatients with schizophrenia found that 59% were on neuroleptics alone and 41% were receiving both neuroleptics and benzodiazepines. Of the group receiving both, 64% were taking a benzodiazepine as a hypnotic agent; 23% of those were taking alprazolam as an anxiolytic. The patients taking neuroleptics and alprazolam required significantly less neuroleptic medication than the group receiving neuroleptics alone.