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Managing benzodiazepine withdrawal during pregnancy: case-based guidelines

Priya Gopalan1, Jody B Glance, Pierre N Azzam

  • 1Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 3520 Fifth Ave., Keystone Building, Lower Level Suite 1, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA, gopalanpr@upmc.edu.

Archives of Women'S Mental Health
|November 26, 2013
PubMed

Substance use disorders during pregnancy pose serious risks for both the mother and the fetus, demanding careful monitoring by the patient's medical providers. Sedative-hypnotic use, in particular, is common but remains poorly studied. Management of withdrawal from chronic benzodiazepine use during pregnancy presents unique challenges to the treating physician. We present two pregnant patients with dependence on sedative-hypnotic agents, outline principles of benzodiazepine withdrawal, and suggest guidelines for detoxification during pregnancy.

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