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Hajira Basit; Chadi I. Kahwaji. Author Information Last Update: June 7, 2022. Go to: Continuing Education Activity Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine drug used for the acute management of the panic disorder, epilepsy, and non-convulsive status epilepticus. It also has many off-label indications for its use, like restless leg syndrome, acute mania, insomnia, and tardive dyskinesia. This activity will highlight the indications, mechanism of action, administration, adverse event profile, contraindications, monitoring, and toxicity of the clonazepam in the clinical settings pertinent for members of the interprofessional team in treating patients with panic and seizure disorders. Objectives: Identify the mechanism of action of clonazepam. Outline the typical presentation of a patient with clonazepam withdrawal. Summarize the indications for using clonazepam therapy. Review the importance of improving care coordination amongst interprofessional team members to reduce appropriate long-term use of prescribed clonazepam to optimize therapy and prevent the risk of developing severe side effects. Access free multiple choice questions on this topic. Go to: Indications Clonazepam is a long-acting and high-potency benzodiazepine. It behaves as a GABA-A receptor agonist. It also has serotonergic activity by increasing serotonin synthesis.[1] Clonazepam has anticonvulsant and anxiolytic effects. It is FDA-approved for the treatment of seizure disorders and panic disorders.[2][3] It also has off-label use as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy to treat mania, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, tardive dyskinesia, and REM sleep behavior disorder.[4][5][6] Seizure Disorders Clonazepam has a broad range of activities against different types of seizure disorders. Its primary indications are acute management of epilepsy and acute treatment of non-convulsive status epilepticus (complex partial seizures or absence seizures). It is also very effective in controlling the minor motor seizures of childhood, particularly petit mal absences, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and infantile spasm.[7] Clonazepam is also useful in the treatment of psychomotor, myoclonic epilepsies, grand mal, and focal motor seizures. However, it is not used as first-line therapy for these conditions. It can be used in patients resistant to standard treatment. Panic Disorder Clonazepam causes a significant improvement in patients who have panic disorders with or without agoraphobia. It is efficacious in the short-term management of panic disorder due to the risk of developing withdrawal symptoms and abuse. However, it is also less likely to cause rebound anxiety upon cessation than other benzodiazepines because of its longer half-life. Clinicians also use it for the acute treatment of panic attacks.[8] Acute Mania Clonazepam has anticonvulsant and serotonin agonist activity, both of which are associated with its antimanic effect. Therefore, it is sometimes helpful for the treatment of acute mania. The research found it to be significantly more effective than lithium in reducing manic symptoms, and fewer patients required PRN administration of haloperidol, as well as the number of days on which haloperidol was needed, was lower during clonazepam treatment. This way, the clonazepam reduces the need for antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of acute mania and decreases the risk of side effects in these patients.[3] Nowadays, a combination of a benzodiazepine and the antipsychotic haloperidol is considered the most effective treatment of acute agitation in the emergency department.[9] Miscellaneous Uses Clonazepam is also an option for treating akathisia, restless leg syndrome, rapid eye movement behavior disorder, and bruxism.[10][11][12][13] Go to: Mechanism of Action Clonazepam is highly potent and a long-acting benzodiazepine. It exerts pharmacological effects by acting as a positive allosteric modulator on GABA-A receptors. The GABA-A receptor is a ligand-gated chloride ion-selective channel which endogenous ligand is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). Benzodiazepines (BZDs) facilitate GABA-A action by increasing the frequency of chloride channel opening resulting in hyperpolarization of the neurons and decreased firing, thus producing calming effects on the brain by reducing the excitability neurons. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter present in abundance in the cortex and limbic system. There are three types of GABA receptors; A, B, and C. However, BZDs act only on GABA-A receptors. Each receptor complex has 2 GABA-binding sites and 1 BZD-binding site and is made of five subunits two alpha, two beta, and one gamma. BZDs do not bind to the same receptor site on the receptor complex as the endogenous ligand GABA but bind to distinct BZD-binding sites situated at the interface between the alpha and gamma subunits. The binding results in a conformational change in the GABA-A receptor's chloride channel that results in the hyperpolarization of the cell and accounts for GABA's inhibitory effect throughout the central nervous system.[14] GABA receptors are also classified into various BZDs receptors based on the isoforms of the alpha subunit. The benzodiazepine type-1 receptors (BZ1), which contain alpha-1 subunits, are present in abundance in the cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum are responsible for their anticonvulsant and sedative effects. Whereas benzodiazepine type-2 receptors containing alpha-2 subunits, mostly concentrated in the limbic system, motor neurons, and dorsal horn of the spinal cord, mediate the anxiolytic effects of BZDs. Go to: Administration Clonazepam is available as a immediate-release tablets of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, and orally disintegrated tablets (ODT) of 0.125 mg, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 2 mg strength. It may be administered once at bedtime to minimize somnolence. The patient should take ODT tablets with water by swallowing the whole tablet immediately after removing it from the package. Clonazepam has rapid absorption after oral administration. The maximum plasma concentration is reached within one to four hours after oral administration, and it is approximately 85% bound to plasma proteins. Clonazepam is highly metabolized by the liver's cytochrome P-450, particularly by CYP3A, in a dose-dependent manner. The elimination half-life of clonazepam is around 30 to 40 hours. Treatment of Absence Seizures, Petit Mal Variant (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome), and Akinetic and Myoclonic Seizures (myoclonia) Adults and adolescents (weight > 30 kg): Therapy should start with 0.5 mg tablets taken orally three times per day. The dosage may be increased by 0.5 to 1 mg every three days until seizures are under control. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 20 mg. Geriatric patients: The same dosage as adults. However, they require lower initial dosages as the elderly may be more sensitive to the effects of benzodiazepines. Pediatric patients (weight < 30 kg): Initially, for the pediatric patients, 0.01 to 0.03 mg/kg/day orally (not to exceed 0.05 mg/kg/day) divided into two or three doses is recommended. The maximum dose in this population should not exceed 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg in 3 doses. Treatment of Panic Disorder Treatment should start at a dose of 0.25 mg tablets, taken twice a day orally for three days, after which the dose should be increased to 0.5 mg tablets twice daily. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 1 to 4 mg. Specific Patient Population Pregnancy: Clonazepam is a class D drug. It has links with some facial and cardiac malformations of the human fetus. However, the data is equivocal. The use of clonazepam in late pregnancy can lead to either floppy infant syndrome or severe withdrawal symptoms in the neonate, including hypotonia, cyanosis, apneic spells, and impaired metabolic responses to cold stress. Clonazepam should only be used during pregnancy if the clinical benefits outweigh the clinical risks to the fetus.[15] Lactation: Clonazepam is excreted into the breastmilk, although not in a significant amount. But for the premature neonate or those exposed during the pregnancy, it may cause problems because the pathway by which it undergoes metabolism is usually impaired in newborns. Therefore, such neonates should be monitored for the development of symptoms, and ideally, patients should be advised not to use clonazepam if they are breastfeeding.[15] Liver Impairment and/or Renal Impairment: There is no dosage adjustment information given in the manufacturer's labeling; use with caution. Clonazepam is hepatically metabolized and renally excreted; its level requires monitoring in hepatic or renal impairment as it can lead to toxic accumulation of the drug in the body in either condition. Clonazepam is contraindicated in severe liver disease.[16][17] Go to: Adverse Effects The adverse effects of clonazepam derive from its property to act as a central nervous system depressant like all the other BZD drugs. Common Side Effects The use of clonazepam is most commonly associated with lethargy, fatigue, sedation, drowsiness, and motor impairment (impaired coordination, impaired balance, dizziness).[14][18] Less Common Side Effects Less commonly, it causes blurred vision, confusion, irritability, loss of libido, lack of motivation, psychomotor agitation, hallucination, worsening of depression, short-term memory loss, and anterograde amnesia, especially with high doses.[19][20][21] Occasional Side Effects Occasional adverse effects of clonazepam include personality changes, behavioral disturbance, ataxia, increased frequency of seizures, thrombocytopenia, and dysphoria.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Rare Side Effects Some of the rare but important side effects of clonazepam include paradoxical disinhibition, i.e., is excitement, rage, and impulsive behavior. The Elderly are especially prone to this side effect. Other side effects are suicide, psychosis, and incontinence.[28][29][30][31][32]Long-term use of benzodiazepine can lead to depression and sexual dysfunction.[19][33] Go to: Contraindications Narrow-angle Glaucoma Clonazepam being a BZD drug is generally contraindicated in acute closed-angle glaucoma. Theoretically, these agents can induce relaxation of the iris and also have a mild anticholinergic activity, which can precipitate an acute attack of closed-angle glaucoma.[34] Significant Liver Disease The liver extensively metabolizes clonazepam. In the case of liver disease, benzodiazepine oxidation decreases, which leads to the accumulation of the drug and result in excessive sedation and respiratory depression.[16] Hypersensitivity to Drug or Components of the Formulation Hypersensitivity to clonazepam is rare, but there are occasional reports. Go to: Monitoring While using clonazepam, several precautions and monitoring are necessary. Elderly and children are especially prone to the adverse effects of clonazepam due to impaired or immature liver function. Complete Blood Count, Renal, and Liver Function Clonazepam is hepatically metabolized and renally excreted; its level requires monitoring in hepatic or renal impairment as it can lead to toxic accumulation of the drug in the body in either condition. It can also rarely cause thrombocytopenia, so platelet levels should also be monitored.[17] Worsening of Seizures Clonazepam can cause a worsening of seizures in persons having multiple types of seizure disorder. In that case, its dosing requires adjustment or an increase in the dose. Abrupt Discontinuation and Tolerance Abrupt withdrawal of clonazepam should be avoided, particularly in those patients on long-term, high-dose therapy for a seizure disorder or other conditions as it may result in status epilepticus and withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, irritability, insomnia, tremors, headache, depression, sweating, confusion, hallucinations, and seizures. Long-term use also leads to developing tolerance, especially to its anticonvulsant properties, which can precipitate a seizure. Respiratory Compromise Patients with compromised respiratory function, such as cases of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea, etc., should take clonazepam with extreme caution. It significantly increases the risk of respiratory depression. It also causes hypersalivation, so it may aggravate conditions in which patients have difficulty handling secretions. Impaired Cognitive and Motor Performance Due to its potential effect for inducing CNS depression, clonazepam may impair judgment, thinking, and motor skills. Patients should be advised against the use of heavy machinery, driving, or any other activity that requires higher motor skills. It should be carefully prescribed in patients with a neuromuscular disorder such as parkinsonism, myasthenia gravis as it can exacerbate their condition. Care is also necessary when prescribing this drug to the elderly as it greatly increases the risk of falls due to poor motor control. Suicidal Behavior Clonazepam is associated with an increased risk of depression, suicidal behavior, and thinking. So the patients and their caregivers should be cautioned to look for any symptoms of worsening of depression, changes in mood or behavior, or suicidal ideation. Alcohol Use Patients should be strongly advised against the use of clonazepam and alcohol concomitantly since both are CNS depressants. Their cumulative effect can result in sedation, severe respiratory depression, low blood pressure, and death. Go to: Toxicity The therapeutic range of clonazepam is from 0.02 to 0.08 mcg/mL. Any level over 0.08 mcg/mL is considered toxic. The symptoms of overdose develop rapidly. Initial Presentation The initial symptoms appear within a few hours with symptoms of CNS depression such as Somnolence Diplopia Slurred speech Motor impairment Severe Presentation If the overdose is severe, then it may result in severe symptoms such as Respiratory depression Hypoxemia Apnea Hypotension Bradycardia Cardiac arrest Pulmonary aspiration Coma Severe consequences of clonazepam use alone are rare, but the toxicity increases significantly if other CNS depressants such as opioids, ethanol, barbiturates, etc., are coadministered.[35] Treatment of Toxicity Supportive care and medical observation are the mainstays of the treatment. The supportive care includes monitoring vitals, IV fluids for hypotension, atropine for bradycardia, and maintaining the patency of the airway by intubation or artificial respiration if respiratory depression develops. The use of flumazenil, a competitive benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, as the antidote is controversial as its use correlates with lowered seizure threshold and widened QRS complex resulting in adverse effects. Its side effects do not outweigh the potential benefits. It has no role in multidrug toxicity and should only be used following a consultation with a medical toxicologist.[36] Go to: Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes The concern lies in the healthcare community about the inappropriate long-term use of prescribed clonazepam and other BZDs drugs despite their serious adverse effects profile like the risk of falls, cognitive impairment, and addiction. Interventions to decrease the inappropriate use of clonazepam involve an interprofessional team that includes clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, and primary care providers. Clonazepam is usually started after an acute event or during the hospital stay by the clinicians. Once ordered by the clinicians, nurses usually administer the drug. Following administration in hospital settings, its use may carry over to the primary care without any indication; this is where a pharmacist performing medication reconciliation on discharge is invaluable. In primary care, patients also influence the clinicians by having this conceived notion about clonazepam and BZDs drugs being a wonder drug to make them feel and sleep better. These issues can result in poor patient outcomes resulting from drug dependence, misuse, abuse, motor impairment, etc. Therefore, an interprofessional approach is required to develop ideas to reduce the use of hypnotics and develop interventions to prevent misuse in the hospital and at the primary and secondary care interface. The prescriber, nurse, and pharmacist should use controlled substance prescription monitoring program (CSPMP) databases to ensure safe and proper use of benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotics, opioids, and other controlled substances. [Level 5] Go to: Review Questions Access free multiple choice questions on this topic. Comment on this article. Go to: References 1. Chouinard G, Labonte A, Fontaine R, Annable L. New concepts in benzodiazepine therapy: rebound anxiety and new indications for the more potent benzodiazepines. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1983;7(4-6):669-73. [PubMed] 2. Cloos JM. The treatment of panic disorder. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2005 Jan;18(1):45-50. [PubMed] 3. Chouinard G. The search for new off-label indications for antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2006 May;31(3):168-76. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 4. Curtin F, Schulz P. Clonazepam and lorazepam in acute mania: a Bayesian meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2004 Mar;78(3):201-8. [PubMed] 5. [Restless legs syndrome: diagnosis and treatment. Opinion of Brazilian experts]. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2007 Sep;65(3A):721-7. [PubMed] 6. Khouzam HR. Identification and management of tardive dyskinesia: A case series and literature review. Postgrad Med. 2015;127(7):726-37. [PubMed] 7. Pinder RM, Brogden RN, Speight TM, Avery GS. Clonazepam: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic efficacy in epilepsy. Drugs. 1976 Nov;12(5):321-61. [PubMed] 8. Marchesi C. Pharmacological management of panic disorder. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2008 Feb;4(1):93-106. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 9. Garza-Treviño ES, Hollister LE, Overall JE, Alexander WF. Efficacy of combinations of intramuscular antipsychotics and sedative-hypnotics for control of psychotic agitation. Am J Psychiatry. 1989 Dec;146(12):1598-601. [PubMed] 10. Salem H, Nagpal C, Pigott T, Teixeira AL. Revisiting Antipsychotic-induced Akathisia: Current Issues and Prospective Challenges. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2017;15(5):789-798. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 11. Trenkwalder C, Hening WA, Montagna P, Oertel WH, Allen RP, Walters AS, Costa J, Stiasny-Kolster K, Sampaio C. Treatment of restless legs syndrome: an evidence-based review and implications for clinical practice. Mov Disord. 2008 Dec 15;23(16):2267-302. [PubMed] 12. Huynh NT, Rompré PH, Montplaisir JY, Manzini C, Okura K, Lavigne GJ. Comparison of various treatments for sleep bruxism using determinants of number needed to treat and effect size. Int J Prosthodont. 2006 Sep-Oct;19(5):435-41. [PubMed] 13. Ferini-Strambi L, Zucconi M. REM sleep behavior disorder. Clin Neurophysiol. 2000 Sep;111 Suppl 2:S136-40. [PubMed] 14. Griffin CE, Kaye AM, Bueno FR, Kaye AD. Benzodiazepine pharmacology and central nervous system-mediated effects. Ochsner J. 2013 Summer;13(2):214-23. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 15. McElhatton PR. The effects of benzodiazepine use during pregnancy and lactation. Reprod Toxicol. 1994 Nov-Dec;8(6):461-75. [PubMed] 16. Peppers MP. Benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal in the elderly and in patients with liver disease. Pharmacotherapy. 1996 Jan-Feb;16(1):49-57. [PubMed] 17. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury [Internet]. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Bethesda (MD): Jan 25, 2017. Clonazepam. [PubMed] 18. Stacy M. Sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease: epidemiology and management. Drugs Aging. 2002;19(10):733-9. [PubMed] 19. Riss J, Cloyd J, Gates J, Collins S. Benzodiazepines in epilepsy: pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. Acta Neurol Scand. 2008 Aug;118(2):69-86. [PubMed] 20. Sorel L, Mechler L, Harmant J. Comparative trial of intravenous lorazepam and clonazepam im status epilepticus. Clin Ther. 1981;4(4):326-36. [PubMed] 21. Lander CM, Donnan GA, Bladin PF, Vajda FJ. Some aspects of the clinical use of clonazepam in refractory epilepsy. Clin Exp Neurol. 1979;16:325-32. [PubMed] 22. Sjö O, Hvidberg EF, Naestoft J, Lund M. Pharmacokinetics and side-effects of clonazepam and its 7-amino-metabolite in man. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1975 Apr 04;8(3-4):249-54. [PubMed] 23. Alvarez N, Hartford E, Doubt C. Epileptic seizures induced by clonazepam. Clin Electroencephalogr. 1981 Apr;12(2):57-65. [PubMed] 24. Veall RM, Hogarth HC. Letter: Thrombocytopenia during treatment with clonazepam. Br Med J. 1975 Nov 22;4(5994):462. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 25. Ishizu T, Chikazawa S, Ikeda T, Suenaga E. [Multiple types of seizure induced by clonazepam in an epileptic patient]. No To Hattatsu. 1988 Jul;20(4):337-9. [PubMed] 26. Bang F, Birket-Smith E, Mikkelsen B. Clonazepam in the treatment of epilepsy. A clinical long-term follow-up study. Epilepsia. 1976 Sep;17(3):321-4. [PubMed] 27. Rosenfeld WE, Beniak TE, Lippmann SM, Loewenson RB. 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Razeghinejad MR, Pro MJ, Katz LJ. Non-steroidal drug-induced glaucoma. Eye (Lond). 2011 Aug;25(8):971-80. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 35. Greenblatt DJ, Allen MD, Noel BJ, Shader RI. Acute overdosage with benzodiazepine derivatives. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1977 Apr;21(4):497-514. [PubMed] 36. Thomson JS, Donald C, Lewin K. Use of Flumazenil in benzodiazepine overdose. Emerg Med J. 2006 Feb;23(2):162. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Copyright © 2022, StatPearls Publishing LLC. This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons license, and any changes made are indicated. Bookshelf ID: NBK556010PMID: 32310470 Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Views PubReader Print View Cite this Page In this Page Continuing Education Activity Indications Mechanism of Action Administration Adverse Effects Contraindications Monitoring Toxicity Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes Review Questions References Related information PMC PubMed Similar articles in PubMed Codeine [StatPearls. 2022] Pramipexole [StatPearls. 2022] Diazepam [StatPearls. 2022] Prescription of Controlled Substances: Benefits and Risks [StatPearls. 2022] Sertraline [StatPearls. 2022] See reviews... See all... Recent Activity ClearTurn Off Clonazepam - StatPearls See more...