Flumazenil in benzodiazepine overdose

Howard An; Jesse Godwin

doi:10.1503/cmaj.160357

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Zopiclone Overdose and Flumazenil Rescue
Nevio Cimolai

Posted on: 22 February 2017

Posted on: (22 February 2017)
Page navigation anchor for Zopiclone Overdose and Flumazenil Rescue
Zopiclone Overdose and Flumazenil Rescue
Nevio Cimolai, Professor
An and Goodwin appropriately detail the use of flumazenil in select circumstances of benzodiazepine overdosing.1 As also suggested, most patients with benzodiazepine overdose recover after supportive therapy and without the need of pharmacological intervention. 'Z drugs' (including zopiclone) share GABA receptors more or less with the benzodiazepines.2 Along the same lines, zopiclone overdose has been effectively treated...
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An and Goodwin appropriately detail the use of flumazenil in select circumstances of benzodiazepine overdosing.1 As also suggested, most patients with benzodiazepine overdose recover after supportive therapy and without the need of pharmacological intervention. 'Z drugs' (including zopiclone) share GABA receptors more or less with the benzodiazepines.2 Along the same lines, zopiclone overdose has been effectively treated with flumazenil, although again most such overuses can be treated with supportive therapy only.2,3 It would be prudent then to share the same precautions for using flumazenil in zopiclone overdosing as it would be for the benzodiazepines.
References
1. An H, Goodwin J. Flumazenil in benzodiazepine overdose. CMAJ 2016;December 6;188:E537.
2. Cimolai N. Zopiclone: is it a pharmacologic agent for abuse? Can Fam Physician 2007;53:2124-9.
3. Cimolai N. Safety with zopiclone use: contemporary issues. Curr Psychopharmacol 2017 (In press).
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.