Preference of insomniac patients between a single dose of zolpidem 10 mg versus zaleplon 10 mg.

Author(s): Allain H, Bentue-Ferrer D, Breton SL, Polard E, Gandon JM

Affiliation(s): Service de Pharmacologie, Faculte de Medecine, Universite de Rennes 1,2, avenue du Professeur Leon Bernard, 35043 Rennes, CS34317, France. herve.allain@univ-rennes1.fr

Publication date & source: 2003-07, Hum Psychopharmacol., 18(5):369-74.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

We assessed the preference of insomniac patients between a single dose of 10 mg zolpidem or zaleplon, respectively, administered in random order on two consecutive nights. Fifty-three patients (mean age 52.2 years, 51% females) with a history of recurrent episodes of insomnia and currently complaining of difficulties in falling asleep were included into a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study by 12 general practitioners. After each night, the patients were asked to fill in a sleep questionnaire and visual analogue scales (VAS) to subjectively assess both the quality of sleep (in the morning) and the quality of the day (in the evening). After the second study night, patients' self-assessed preference was established through a drug preference questionnaire. 62% of patients preferred zolpidem, while 38% preferred zaleplon (p = 0.08). The quality of sleep items getting to sleep and quality of sleep were significantly more improved after zolpidem (p = 0.03 and p < 0.0001, respectively). On the VAS, subjective sleep quality was significantly better after zolpidem (p < 0.0001). Diurnal awakeness and quality of day life were satisfying in both groups, without significant difference. The subjective total duration of sleep was 8.0 h for zolpidem and 8.1 h for zaleplon (n.s.). Safety was good and similar between the two drugs. Insomniac patients tended to prefer zolpidem to zaleplon on both nocturnal and diurnal assessments. These results provide additional information for the physician's choice, based on the patient's preference for a given drug. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.