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Sleeping through the night: are extended-release formulations the answer?
1College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA. cjc72@drexel.edu
Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
|February 15, 2008
Summary
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder affecting millions. Zolpidem extended-release effectively treats insomnia symptoms without impairing next-day function, improving patient quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Insomnia is a prevalent and debilitating sleep disorder.
- Common symptoms include difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, or early morning awakenings.
- Difficulty maintaining sleep is the most frequent symptom.
Purpose of the Study:
- Provide an overview of insomnia, including identification and treatments.
- Review the efficacy and safety of extended-release sleep medication.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of published clinical research and review articles.
- Utilized Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria.
- Inclusion of relevant clinical trials.
Main Results:
- Zolpidem extended-release, a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic, is approved for insomnia treatment.
- This medication can be used long-term as medically necessary.
- It improves both sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance difficulties.
Conclusions:
- Insomnia remains underdiagnosed and undertreated.
- Extended-release zolpidem demonstrates efficacy and safety for insomnia.
- It does not negatively impact next-day functioning.
- Nurse practitioners can improve patient quality of life by addressing insomnia.
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