Zolpidem-induced Psychiatric Symptoms

Abstract

Objective: Zolpidem is considered a safe and effective hypnotic agent for the short-term treatment of insomnia. Sporadic cases of zolpidem-induced psychiatric symptoms, however, such as somnambulism, delirium or psychotic symptoms have been reported. We report 10 additional cases with zolpidem-induced psychiatric symptoms in patients from a single psychiatric clinic. These cases illustrate the need for clinicians to carefully monitor patients for adverse events associated with zolpidem. Case reports: We identified 10 patients with zolpidem-induced psychiatric symptoms from a review of medical records between June 2002 and February 2003. Among these patients, three had amnesia, three had somnambulism, three had symptoms of delirium and one had psychotic symptoms. Two of these patients had exhibited dangerous behaviors towards their family members. All of these patients denied any history of above psychiatric problems before the use of zolpidem as well as any recurrence after discontinuation. Conclusion: Zolpidem may induce amnesia, somnambulism, delirium or psychotic symptoms in a small percentage of patients. Careful monitoring of these potential adverse events and alerting of patients to their possible occurrence is warranted.