A case report of sleep terrors exacerbated by cetirizine
Shahzad Hussain1, Sameh G Aziz1
1Department of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia.
Abstract:
Sleep terrors are a type of sleep disorder that is classified as parasomnias and is more common in children than in adults. Cetirizine is a histamine H1 antagonist that is US Food and Drug Administration approved for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and urticaria and has common adverse effects of drowsiness and headaches. We present a case of an adult man with a history of chronic sleep terror disorder and allergic rhinitis who developed worsening of his sleep terrors after initiation of cetirizine that subsequently resolved after discontinuing cetirizine and starting paroxetine.
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