Irish medical journal
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There is an increasing problem with benzodiazepine co-abuse in the opiate dependent population of Dublin. The importance of early detection of this co-abuse is essential as there is an increased risk of dangerous injecting practices such as sharing of needles and criminality in those who co-abuse benzodiazepines and opiates. ⋯ Using a sample of those attending the clinic it was discovered that standard methods of urinalysis failed to identify 10% of co-abuse. For those patients whose abuse of flunitrazepam is undetected on screening, clinical interventions which aim to minimise the consequence of the co-abuse and reverse the chaotic drug using patterns fail to be put in place at the earliest possible time.