FDA issues medication-assisted treatment guidance
Medication-assisted treatment using buprenorphine and methadone should not be withheld from patients taking benzodiazepines or other drugs that suppress the central nervous system, the Food and Drug Administration advised today. While combining these drugs increases the risk of serious side effects, the harm caused by untreated opioid addiction can outweigh these risks, the agency said. Instead, FDA recommends that health care providers take certain actions and precautions and develop a treatment plan when buprenorphine or methadone is used in combination with benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants. The agency said it also is requiring changes to MAT drug labels to help decrease the risks of combining these drugs.
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