Clinical practice guideline on benzodiazepine tapering available from ASAM

Last week the American Society of Addiction Medicine released a joint guideline on benzodiazepine tapering. Developed with 10 medical societies, the guideline focuses on strategies to help clinicians determine whether a given patient needs to taper from benzodiazepine medications, and if so, the best way to do so. Benzodiazepines are approved to treat many conditions, including anxiety, mood disorders, insomnia, and seizures. However, benzodiazepine use is also associated with risk of overdose (especially in combination with opioids and alcohol), motor vehicle accidents, falls, and cognitive impairment. When patients take benzodiazepines for more than a month, abrupt discontinuation should not be attempted; rather, the medication must be tapered under clinical supervision. For the guideline, go to Download Guideline .