Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse

• Benzodiazepines or other CNS Depressants exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death. Assess each patient's risk prior to prescribing these medications, and monitor all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions.

Life -Threatening Respiratory Depression

• Opioids can cause sleep-related breathing disorders including central sleep apnea (CSA) and sleep-related hypoxemia. Opioid use increases the risk of CSA in a dose-dependent fashion. In patients who present with CSA, consider decreasing the opioid dosage using best practices for opioid taper.