PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Fournier, Camille
AU  - Jamoulle, Olivier
AU  - Chadi, Alexandre
AU  - Chadi, Nicholas
TI  - Severe Benzodiazepine Use Disorder in a 16-Year-Old Adolescent: A Rapid and Safe Inpatient Taper
AID  - 10.1542/peds.2020-1085
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - Pediatrics
PG  - e20201085
VI  - 147
IP  - 1
4099  - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/147/1/e20201085.short
4100  - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/147/1/e20201085.full
SO  - Pediatrics2021 Jan 01; 147
AB  - We describe the case of a 16-year-old boy with a 1-year history of severe benzodiazepine misuse. After being denied access to several treatment programs and hospital centers that felt unprepared to manage benzodiazepine use disorder and withdrawal in an adolescent, the patient was admitted to a tertiary pediatric unit for rapid inpatient tapering and detoxification. The patient was hospitalized for 13 days and received decreasing doses of diazepam under close monitoring of withdrawal symptoms. The taper was well tolerated, and the patient was transferred to a youth residential substance use treatment center, where he completed a successful 2-month placement. This case highlights the lack of adolescent-friendly facilities allowing safe tapering of rapid-acting benzodiazepines in North America. Given high rates of benzodiazepine misuse among youth and the risks associated with benzodiazepine misuse and withdrawal, there is a critical need for more research, provider training, and dedicated resources in this area.