Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T21:00:03.687Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term outcome of two forms of randomised benzodiazepine discontinuation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

R. C. Oude Voshaar ,
W. J. M. J. Gorgels ,
A. J. J. Mol ,
A. J. L. M. Van Balkom ,
J. Mulder ,
E. H. Van De Lisdonk ,
M. H. M. Breteler  and
F. G. Zitman
R. C. Oude Voshaar*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen
W. J. M. J. Gorgels
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Family Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen
A. J. J. Mol
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen
A. J. L. M. Van Balkom
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
J. Mulder
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Family Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen
E. H. Van De Lisdonk
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Family Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen
M. H. M. Breteler
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Personality Radboud University Nijmegen
F. G. Zitman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
*
Dr R.C. Oude Voshaar, Department of Psychiatry Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Abouttwo-thirds of long-term users of benzodiazepines in the population are able to discontinue this drug with the aid of supervised programmes for tapering off. Little is known about the long-term outcome of such programmes, and they have never been compared with usual care. After a 15-month follow-up of a randomised controlled trial comparing such a programme with and without psychotherapy with usual care, we found significantly higher longitudinal abstinence rates in long-term benzodiazepine users who received a benzodiazepine tapering-off programme without psychotherapy (25 out of 69, 36%) compared with those who received usual care (5 out of 33, 15%; P=0.03).

Type
Short Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 188 , Issue 2 , February 2006 , pp. 188 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Footnotes

Declaration of Interest

None.

References

Ashton, H. (1987) Benzodiazepine withdrawal: outcome in 50 patients. British Journal of Addiction, 82, 665–671.Google Scholar
Baillargeon, L., Landreville, P., Verreault, R., et al (2003) Discontinuation of benzodiazepines among older insomniac adults treated with cognitive–behavioural therapy combined with gradual tapering: a randomized trial. Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, 11, 1015–1020.Google Scholar
Couvee, J. E., Timmermans, E. A. & Zitman, F. G. (2002) The long-term outcome of a benzodiazepine discontinuation program in depressed outpatients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 70, 133–141.Google Scholar
Golombok, S., Higgitt, A., Fonagy, P., et al (1987) A follow-up study of patients treated for benzodiazepine dependence. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 60, 141–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holton, A., Riley, P. & Tyrer, P. (1992) Factors predicting long-term outcome alter chronic benzodiazepine therapy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 24, 245–252.Google Scholar
Lader, M. (1994) Anxiety or depression during withdrawal of hypnotic treatments. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 113–123.Google Scholar
Morin, C. M., Bastien, C., Guay, B., et al (2004) Randomized controlledtrial of supervised tapering and cognitive—behavior therapy to facilitate benzodiazepine discontinuation in older adults with chronic insomnia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 332–342.Google Scholar
Otto, M. W., Pollack, M. H., Sachs, G. S., et al (1993) Discontinuation of benzodiazepine treatment: efficacy of cognitive–behavioral therapy for patients with panic disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 1485–1490.Google Scholar
Oude Voshaar, R. C., Gorgels, W. J. M. J., Mol, A. J. J., et al (2003) Tapering off long-term benzodiazepine use with or without group cognitive–behavioural therapy: three-condition randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 498–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oude Voshaar, R. C., Couvée, J. E., Van Balkom, A. J. L. M., et al (2006) Strategies to discontinue long-term benzodiazepine use: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry in press.Google Scholar
Rickels, K., Case, W. G., Schweizer, E., et al (1991) Long-term benzodiazepine users 3 years after participation in a discontinuation program. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 757–761.Google Scholar
Vorma, H., Naukkarinen, H., Sarna, S., et al (2002) Treatment of out-patients with complicated benzodiazepine dependence: comparison of two approaches. Addiction, 97, 851–859.Google Scholar
World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Drugs Statistics Methodology (1996) Guidelines ATC Classification and DDD Assignment (1st edn). Oslo: WHO/Norwegian Institute of Public Health.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Voshaar et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Table S1

Download Voshaar et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 25.7 KB
Supplementary material: File

Voshaar et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download Voshaar et al. supplementary material(File)
File 581 Bytes
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.