Physician prescribing of opioids to patients at increased risk of overdose from benzodiazepine use in the United States.

Ladapo JA, Larochelle MR, Chen A, et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018 Apr 12; [Epub ahead of print].

Patients prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines concurrently may be at increased risk for adverse drug events. Researchers used data from both the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to identify adults already using a benzodiazepine who were newly prescribed opioid medication between 2005 and 2015. Rates of opioid prescribing among patients using a benzodiazepine remained higher than rates in the general population during the entire study period.

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