Journal of psychiatric research
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Benzodiazepines are commonly encountered in both psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment settings. However, in the chemical dependency setting, benzodiazepines are most frequently used as secondary drugs of abuse, and are most often found within a polydrug use pattern. ⋯ The presence of an anxiety disorder, a family history of addiction, or benzodiazepine polydrug use will significantly affect the type of withdrawal a patient will experience and its treatment course. Medical procedures accepted for benzodiazepine discontinuation include (1) graded reduction; (2) substitution of a long-acting benzodiazepine; and (3) phenobarbital substitution.