Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2006
Withdrawal from long-term benzodiazepine use: randomised trial in family practice.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brief interventions targeting long-term benzodiazepine and Z-drug use in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Psychosocial interventions for benzodiazepine harmful use, abuse or dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Canadian guideline for safe and effective use of opioids for chronic noncancer pain: clinical summary for family physicians. Part 1: general population.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2011Guideline
- A brief intervention to discontinue inappropriate z-hypnotics use by older patients in primary care: a randomised controlled trial.BMC primary care · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Evaluating the Implementation of a Multicomponent Intervention Consisting of Education and Feedback on Reducing Benzodiazepine Prescriptions by General Practitioners: BENZORED Hybrid Type I Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Efficacy of two interventions on the discontinuation of benzodiazepines in long-term users: 36-month follow-up of a cluster randomised trial in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Comparative efficacy of two primary care interventions to assist withdrawal from long term benzodiazepine use: a protocol for a clustered, randomized clinical trial.BMC family practice · 2011Trial
- Dual orexin receptor antagonist-assisted dose reduction of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor agonists: a mirror-image analysis of insurance claims data.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026Article
- Neurotransmitter regulatory networks in persistent postural-perceptual dizziness: potential mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Review
- Sleep should not be this difficult: An interpretive descriptive study of older adults' perspectives on behaviour change elements in Sleepwell and experiences with benzodiazepine discontinuation.Journal of sleep research · 2025Article
- The impact of a pharmacist intervention on post-discharge hypnotic drug discontinuation in geriatric inpatients: a before-after study.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Deprescribing Strategies for Opioids and Benzodiazepines with Emphasis on Concurrent Use: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Applying the intervention Complexity Assessment Tool to brief interventions targeting long-term benzodiazepine receptor agonist use in primary care: Lessons learned.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- Benzodiazepines: Uses, Dangers, and Clinical Considerations.Neurology international · 2021Review
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Discontinuation of Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use in Insomnia and Anxiety Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Deprescribing intervention activities mapped to guiding principles for use in general practice: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Benzodiazepine usage and patient preference for alternative therapies: A descriptive study.Health science reports · 2019Article
- Approaches to Deprescribing Psychotropic Medications for Changed Behaviours in Long-Term Care Residents Living with Dementia.Drugs & aging · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on byZ-drugs.2007
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe long-term use of benzodiazepines is highly prevalent in developed societies and is not devoid of risks. Withdrawing patients from these drugs is often difficult. Tapering off benzodiazepines has been shown to be a good strategy for discontinuing their long-term use.
aimTo establish the efficacy of an intervention programme for reducing the chronic use of benzodiazepines. DESIGN OF STUDY: Randomised, two-arm, parallel, non-blinded controlled trial.
settingThree urban healthcare centres covering a population of 50,000 inhabitants (Mallorca, Spain).
methodAdult patients (n = 139) taking benzodiazepines daily for more than a year and visited by their family physician were randomised into an intervention group (n = 73) that received standardised advice and a tapering off schedule with biweekly follow-up visits, or into a control group (n = 66), that was managed following routine clinical practice. Both were followed for a year.
resultsPatients achieved withdrawal or reduced their dose by at least 50% after 6 and 12 months. Abstinence and withdrawal symptoms were also measured. Both groups were homogeneous for personal, clinical and psychological characteristics and for benzodiazepine use. Only two patients from each group were lost to follow-up. After 12 months, 33 (45.2%) patients in the intervention group and six (9.1%) in the control group had discontinued benzodiazepine use; relative risk = 4.97 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2 to 11.1), absolute risk reduction = 0.36 (95% CI = 0.22 to 0.50). For every three interventions, one patient achieved withdrawal. Sixteen (21.9%) subjects from the intervention group and 11 (16.7%) controls reduced their initial dose by more than 50%.
conclusionStandardised advice given by the family physician, together with a tapering off schedule, is effective for withdrawing patients from long-term benzodiazepine use and is feasible in primary care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
17132385PMC1934057W1841625466What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.