Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41441329›Full record

ArticlePharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Benzodiazepine (BZD) Use and Patient Safety: Opportunities for Community Pharmacy Involvement in the Management of Drug Interactions.

Juan Ramón Santana Ayala, Daida Alberto Armas, Veronica Hernández García, Armando Aguirre-Jaime, Ángel J Gutiérrez, Soraya Paz-Montelongo, Arturo Hardisson de la Torre, Carmen Rubio Armendáriz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Juan Ramón Santana AyalaEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0009-0007-6877-9734
Daida Alberto ArmasEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-2481-7405
Veronica Hernández GarcíaEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1272-4850
Armando Aguirre-JaimeIndependent Biostatistician, 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-0749-4993
Ángel J GutiérrezEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1581-0850
Soraya Paz-MontelongoEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Arturo Hardisson de la TorreEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Carmen Rubio ArmendárizEnvironmental Toxicology and Food and Drug Safety Research Group, La Laguna University, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-8774-5870

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDuring pharmaceutical care, community pharmacists play a crucial role by carrying out interventions aimed at preventing, detecting, and resolving drug-related problems (DRPs) and negative outcomes associated with medication (NOM), simultaneously enhancing patients' knowledge about their treatments. The chronic use of Benzodiazepines (BZDs) is known to be associated with risks such as tolerance, dependence, and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the combined use of BZDs with other medications or alcohol may expose patients to significant drug interactions.

objectivesThis study aimed to characterize and describe the clinical profile of patients using BZDs, to evaluate the extent of polypharmacy and potential drug interactions, to investigate their level of knowledge regarding BZD treatment, and ultimately, to propose evidence-based interventions from the community pharmacy to contribute to improving patient safety and minimizing risks associated with BZD use.

methodA cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in a single community pharmacy in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). The study population comprised 125 adult patients with active BZD prescriptions. Data collection was performed through pharmacist-patient structured interviews using a questionnaire that included sociodemographic, clinical, and BZD knowledge variables.

resultsLormetazepam and alprazolam were the BZDs most frequently prescribed and dispensed. Potential drug interactions with other medications were detected in 38.4% of BZD users. Notably, 61.5% of patients using BZDs also reported the concurrent use of opioid analgesics, with tramadol being the most common opioid (48.1% of BZD users were also treated with tramadol). Statistically significant differences were observed between patients with and without BZD and other drug interactions in several adverse outcome variables, including the risk of falls (

conclusionsThe findings underscore the essential and proactive role of community pharmacists in identifying and managing drug interactions, as well as in supporting deprescribing strategies through collaborative and interprofessional care models.

Indexed as

benzodiazepinescommunity pharmacyinteractionsknowledgeopioidspharmaceutical care

Identifiers

PMID41441329
PMCPMC12737050

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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.