Discontinuing Benzodiazepines: Best Practices
Open accessAbstract
In July 2015, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) released a Rapid Response report summary, with a critical appraisal, on discontinuation strategies for patients with long-term benzodiazepines (BDZ) use. The CADTH document is a review of the literature. It includes studies whose intervention is BDZ discontinuation. Also, clinical guidelines, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are included. What emerges from the CADTH guidelines is that the best strategy remains gradual tapering of BDZ with little evidence for the use of adjunctive medications. The results show that simple interventions such as discontinuation letters from clinicians, self-help information and support in general, added to gradual tapering may be associated with a two- to three-fold higher chance of successful withdrawal, compared with treatment as usual. We suggest possible implications for day-to-day clinical practice.
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Several publications argue that brief interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation are very effective, doubling or tripling the abstinence rate achieved in standard care.
“Several publications [24,79,80,81,82,83] argue that these brief interventions are very effective, doubling or tripling the abstinence rate achieved in standard care.”
From Cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy for the discontinuation of long-term benzodiazepine use in insomnia and anxiety disorders (2021) · cites this paper as [24]
The concluding discussion (p. 215) says simple interventions may increase the chance of successful benzodiazepine withdrawal two to three times, and the Abstract reports higher withdrawal rates than usual care. The citing sentence presents that effect as established and calls the interventions “very effective,” whereas the source hedges the conclusion and cautions that the included studies were not of high quality. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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1 of the 11 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (2015). Discontinuation strategies for patients with long-term benzodiazepine use: a review of clinical evidence and guidelines. Retrieved 20 October 2015 from https://www. cadth.ca/sites/default/files/rc0682-bzd_discontinuation_ strategies_final_0.pdf.
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“The prescription and use of BZDs has been under scrutiny for over 40 years [23] due to their many side effects [8,24,25].”
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Conservative Approaches for the Management of Temporomandibular Disorders: A Narrative Review
Tiwari, A. V., & Dangore-Khasbage, S. B. (2025) · Journal of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University · doi:10.4103/jdmimsu.jdmimsu_221_25
- Authors
- Guaiana, G., & Barbui, C.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- University of Verona (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Guaiana, G.
- Venue
- Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2016-01-28
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 214-216
- ISSN
- 2045-7960 (ISSN-L)
- 2045-7979
- PMC
- PMC6998737
- OpenAlex
- W2342580245
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 0.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Keywords
- benzodiazepine withdrawal, benzodiazepine tapering, gradual tapering, long-term benzodiazepine use, adjunctive pharmacotherapy, self-help intervention, clinical guidelines
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Benzodiazepines, Canada, Humans
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