A new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that co-prescribing benzodiazepines with opioids increases the patient’s risk of overdose by four times that of opioids alone.
Even patients on low doses of opioid analgesics have this increased chance of fatality. Researching physicians suggest that prescribers should thoroughly consider their options and weigh the risks and benefits before prescribing these drugs. Safer alternatives are usually available and oftentimes improve quality of life more effectively than opioids and benzodiazepines do.