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FEBRUARY 10, 2016

New Study Highlights Risks of Combining Benzodiazepines and Opioids

Although prescribing benzodiazepines concurrently with opioid analgesics has been shown to raise the risk for fatal overdose, new research documents a risk that is four times that of opioids taken alone, and even at low doses. The new study was published online in the British Medical Journal (2015;350:h2698).

Additionally, the authors found a dose-dependent association with overdose risk. This may “help prioritize how we address this risk,” said Roger Chou, MD, professor in the