Long‐Term Therapy With Benzodiazepines Despite Alcohol Dependence Disorder: Seven Case Reports

The author describes the long‐term administration of benzodiazepines to seven male patients (58–70 years old), each with at least a 25‐year history of alcohol dependence. Benzodiazepines were prescribed for the treatment of an anxiety disorder or sleep disturbance. All seven patients maintained abstinence during benzodiazepine administration, except for a brief period of relapse in two patients. These patients comprised all of the subjects given benzodiazepines for more than 1 week in a Veterans Affairs substance abuse program over a 3‐year period. These case reports suggest that the long‐term administration of benzodiazepines to carefully selected alcohol‐dependent patients is not necessarily incompatible with abstinence. Guidelines for the use of benzodiazepines in this patient population are reviewed. 1992 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry