ArticleHarm reduction journal2017
The impact of benzodiazepine use in patients enrolled in opioid agonist therapy in Northern and rural Ontario.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The epidemiology of benzodiazepine misuse: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Pooled it
- Characterizing trends and patterns in benzodiazepine-related toxicity deaths in Ontario: A descriptive cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepines and Opioid co-use Among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Findings From the Rural Opioid Initiative.Substance use & addiction journal · 2025Article
- Examining opioid agonist treatment (OAT) site operations and early signals of change in the first year of British Columbia's drug decriminalization policy: Insights from a provincial survey.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025Article
- Canadian Addiction Treatment Centre (CATC) opioid agonist treatment cohort in Ontario, Canada.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Benzodiazepine use, quality of life and psychiatric symptom burden in oral and injectable opioid agonist treatment: a cross-sectional study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Article
- Effects of a trauma-informed mindful recovery program on comorbid pain, anxiety, and substance use during primary care buprenorphine treatment: A proof-of-concept study.The American journal on addictions · 2023Article
- The impact of benzodiazepine exposure on treatment retention in an open-access methadone program: A retrospective cohort study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Article
- Article
- Barriers and facilitators to opioid agonist therapy in rural and remote communities in Canada: an integrative review.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2022Review
- Measuring treatment attrition at various stages of engagement in Opioid Agonist Treatment in Ontario Canada using a cascade of care framework.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Substance Use, Hospitalizations, and Co-Occurring Disorders among Patients Transferred from a Needle Exchange Program to Opioid Maintenance Treatment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Observational
- Association Between Benzodiazepine or Z-Drug Prescriptions and Drug-Related Poisonings Among Patients Receiving Buprenorphine Maintenance: A Case-Crossover Analysis.The American journal of psychiatry · 2021Article
- Substance use and symptoms of mental health disorders: a prospective cohort of patients with severe substance use disorders in Norway.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2021Article
- Poly-prescription drug misuse across the life course: Prevalence and correlates across different adult age cohorts in the U.S.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Article
- A Retrospective Cohort Study Comparing In-Person and Telemedicine-Based Opioid Agonist Treatment in Ontario, Canada, Using Administrative Health Data.European addiction research · 2021Article
- Negative Impact of Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Use on Opioid Agonist Treatment Retention in Ontario, Canada.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Article
- A cohort study evaluating the association between concurrent mental disorders, mortality, morbidity, and continuous treatment retention for patients in opioid agonist treatment (OAT) across Ontario, Canada, using administrative health data.Harm reduction journal · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBenzodiazepine use is common among patients in opioid agonist therapy; this puts patients at an increased risk of overdose and death. In this study, we examine the impact of baseline and ongoing benzodiazepine use, and whether patients are more likely to terminate treatment with increasing proportion of benzodiazepine positive urine samples. We also study whether benzodiazepine use differs by geographic location.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using anonymized electronic medical records from 58 clinics offering opioid agonist therapy in Ontario. One-year treatment retention was the primary outcome of interest and was measured for patients who did and did not have a benzodiazepine positive urine sample in their first month of treatment, and as a function of the proportion of benzodiazepine-positive urine samples throughout treatment. Cox proportional hazard model was used to characterize one-year retention.
resultsOur cohort consisted of 3850 patients, with the average retention rate of 43.4%. Baseline benzodiazepine users had a retention rate of 39.9% and non-users had a retention rate of 44%. Patients who were benzodiazepine negative on admission benefited from an increased median days retained of 265 vs. 215 days. Patients with more than 75% of urines positive for benzodiazepines were 175% more likely to drop out of treatment than those patients with little or no benzodiazepine use.
conclusionsBaseline benzodiazepine use is predictive of decreased retention. Patients who have a higher proportion of benzodiazepine-positive urine samples are more likely to drop out of treatment compared to those who have little or no benzodiazepine detection in their urine.
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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.