Benzos linked to opioid overdose

Eliminating concurrent use of benzodiazepines and prescription opioids could reduce emergency visits or inpatient admissions for opioid overdose by 15%, according to American researchers who analysed the medical records of 315,428 people aged 18 to 64 years.

The authors defined concurrent use as an overlap of at least one day in the time covered by the prescriptions for benzodiazepine and opioids. Controls took prescription opioids only.

On average, 2.42% of concurrent users made an emergency visit or were admitted as inpatients for opioid overdose compared to 1.16% of controls. After adjusting for confounders, people taking concurrent opioids and benzodiazepines were more than twice as likely to need an emergency room visit or admission for opioid overdose (odds ratio 2.14) than controls. Assuming the link is causal, eliminating concurrent use could reduce emergency visits and inpatient admissions for opioid overdose by 15%.