Pharmacological Management of Acute and Chronic Insomnia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Insomnia is a frequent and difficult disease to treat. The objective was to determine the pharmacological management of a group of patients diagnosed with acute and chronic insomnia.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that identified patterns of prescription of drugs for outpatient use in patients with insomnia from a population database of 8.5 million individuals in the Health System of Colombia. Sociodemographic and pharmacological variables were considered.

Results: A total of 5825 patients with insomnia were identified. Acute insomnia was the most frequent complaint (85.2%). A total of 76.9% received pharmacological treatment, mainly through off-label drugs (70.7%), such as trazodone (20.2%), quetiapine (12.3%), and clonazepam (11.1%). The approved drugs were used in 9.9% of the patients, especially eszopiclone (4.7%) and zopiclone (3.6%). Benzodiazepines and Z compounds predominated in the elderly and individuals with chronic insomnia.

Conclusions: The pharmacological treatment of insomnia in this group of patients is heterogeneous, and medications not approved for this indication are very frequently used.