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Addiction to Benzodiazepines— How Common?
Steven A. King, MD, MS
Director, Division of Pain Medicine Temple University School of Medicine Philadelphia, Pa
Arch Fam Med. 1996;5(7):383-384.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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In his article,1 Dr Piper states "the literature provides no support for the notion that benzodiazepines are often used recklessly, in escalating dosage, or inappropriately" and "the belief that benzodiazepines are frequently consumed despite harmful medical effects and adverse social consequences, as required by the definition of addiction used... is not supported by the available literature." With regard to at least 1 large group of patients frequently seen by family physicians, these statements are untrue.
It has been shown that many patients with chronic pain conditions receive benzodiazepines despite evidence that they provide little benefit in these patients and may, in fact, be detrimental.2-4 These medications may impair functioning, the improvement of which is the usual goal in the management of chronic pain, and may even exacerbate pain by lowering the pain threshold. In my own experience with the patients with chronic pain whom I treat, who
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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