Concomitant Use of Z-Drugs and Prescription Opioids

In 2016, the U.S. FDA issued a black box warning about risk for respiratory depression with combined use of opioids and so-called “Z-drugs” (i.e., zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon, used as sleep aids) based on their pharmacological similarities to benzodiazepines. Yet, concomitant use remains widespread, estimated at 1.2 million patients in the U.S.

In this study of the IBM MarketScan database, researchers analyzed more than 500,000 adult patients who were using prescription opioids and Z-drugs concurrently and matched them with reference patients who were using prescription opioids alone. Overdose events, defined as any hospitalization or emergency department visit due to an unintentional overdose event within 30 days of initial Z-drug use…