PEB simulator · Psychopharmacology

Switching, adjusting or tapering a benzodiazepine

On the left, today’s drug and dose. On the right, what the chosen action gives: the equivalent dose of another drug, an adjustment bounded by the product information, or a tapering schedule. Every figure is tied to its source and to its level of evidence.

DemonstratedSuggestedExpert opinionPEB calculationNot demonstrated

For healthcare professionalsEvidence reviewed up to 11 September 2026France and Dubai

◆ Today

Current treatment

1Step 1: Drugs and action

Current drug

Total daily dose

mg / day

Target drug

2Step 2: Patient factors0

Place of prescribing

How long the drug has been taken daily

Taken at least 4 days a week Aged 65 or overReduced doses, falls, Beers criteria Moderate to high dose, in your judgementCategory from ASAM table 3; no source read sets an mg threshold that holds across all drugs Concurrent opioidsAnalgesics, antitussives, opioid substitution therapy AlcoholRegular use, or a past alcohol withdrawal Mild to moderate hepatic impairmentThe severe form is a contraindication, to be ticked at step 3 Pregnancy or breastfeeding

3Step 3: Contraindications to check0

The shared list from section 4.3 of the French product information read, for example that of Xanax. Asthma does not appear there as such: it is severe respiratory failure that contraindicates. In respiratory impairment, the product information asks that the respiratory depressant effect be taken into account (section 4.4).

◆ Tomorrow

Result

Sources used by this simulator

Read before use

A tool to support clinical reasoning, for healthcare professionals. It replaces neither the product information, nor clinical examination, nor specialist advice, and it is not a prescription.

No study found validates the equivalence tables against a clinical measurement. The values come from expert opinions that disagree with one another. No randomised trial found compares two tapering paces. The durations, medians and rounded figures shown are PEB calculations, and are labelled as such.

The regulatory data carry the date of their source. The Dubai figures come from the DHA Pharmacy Guidelines of 2021 and remain to be confirmed with the Drug Control Section.

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From Psychiatry Evidence Base. Evidence-based psychiatry, explained with rigour.