The use of benzodiazepines was linked to a fivefold increase in the risk for opioid-related overdose during the first 90 days of such treatment, according to findings recently published in JAMA Network Open.
“The concurrent administration of benzodiazepines increases the risk of opioid-related overdose because of the combination of their depressant effects on the central nervous system’s controls for respiration. For this reason, the [CDC] recommends against their concurrent use,” Immaculata Hernandez, PharmD, PhD, of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues wrote.
“Despite this recommendation, the concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines has increased by more than 40% in the last 12 years, and in 2013 more than 20% of patients taking opioids used benzodiazepines concurrently,” they added.”
Source: Healio.com – June 22, 2018
