Abstract
A 14-year-old previously fit schoolboy was admitted with staphylococcal pneumonia secondary to influenza A infection. His condition deteriorated as he developed adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): during a stormy recovery exceptionally high doses of benzodiazepines and opiates were given in order to suppress voluntary breathing during a successful period of assisted ventilation. It is possible that benzodiazepine-opiate antagonism developed. Subsequent studies in laboratory mice indicate that the respiratory depressant effects of morphine can be antagonized by prior treatment with lorazepam.
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McDonald, C.F., Thomson, S.A., Scott, N.C. et al. Benzodiazepine-opiate antagonism — a problem in intensive-care therapy. Intensive Care Med 12, 39–42 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315369
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315369