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

ObjectiveInsomnia 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.MethodsThis 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.ResultsA 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.ConclusionsThe pharmacological treatment of insomnia in this group of patients is heterogeneous, and medications not approved for this indication are very frequently used.