Mechanism of ActionĬlonazepam is highly potent and a long-acting benzodiazepine. Ĭlonazepam is also a side option for treating akathisia, restless leg syndrome, rapid eye movement behavior disorder, and bruxism. Nowadays, a combination of a benzodiazepine and the antipsychotic haloperidol is considered the most effective treatment of acute agitation in the emergency department. 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. 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. Therefore, it is sometimes helpful for the treatment of acute mania. Ĭlonazepam has anticonvulsant and serotonin agonist activity, both of which are associated with its antimanic effect. Clinicians also use it for the acute treatment of panic attacks. However, it is also less likely to cause rebound anxiety upon cessation than other benzodiazepines because of its longer half-life. It is efficacious in the short-term management of panic disorder due to the risk of developing withdrawal symptoms and abuse. It can be used in patients resistant to standard treatment.Ĭlonazepam causes a significant improvement in patients who have panic disorders with or without agoraphobia. However, it is not used as first-line therapy for these conditions. Clonazepam is also useful in the treatment of psychomotor, myoclonic epilepsies, grand mal, and focal motor seizures. It is also very effective in controlling the minor motor seizures of childhood, particularly petit mal absences, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and infantile spasm. Its primary indications are acute management of epilepsy and acute treatment of non-convulsive status epilepticus (complex partial seizures or absence seizures). Ĭlonazepam has a broad range of activity against different types of seizure disorders. 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. It is FDA-approved for the treatment of seizure disorders and panic disorders. Clonazepam has anticonvulsant and anxiolytic effects. It also has serotonergic activity by increasing serotonin synthesis. It behaves both as a GABA-A receptor agonist. 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.Ĭlonazepam is a long-acting and high-potency benzodiazepine.Summarize the indications for using clonazepam therapy.Outline the typical presentation of a patient with clonazepam withdrawal.Identify the mechanism of action of clonazepam.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. It also has many off-label indications for its use, like restless leg syndrome, acute mania, insomnia, and tardive dyskinesia. Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine drug used for the acute management of panic disorder, epilepsy, and non-convulsive status epilepticus.