Testing positive for methadone and either a tricyclic antidepressant or a benzodiazepine is associated with an accidental overdose death: analysis of medical examiner data.

Objectives: Patients in emergency departments who use methadone frequently use tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and/or benzodiazepines (BZDs). This is a potentially dangerous drug combination. The authors hypothesized that the presence of methadone and a TCA, a BZD, or both is associated with an "accidental" overdose (AOD) death more often than a death from any other cause.