[Long term utilisation (six months) of an hypnotic triazolobenzodiazepine (triazolam) by psychiatric patients]

Twenty patients have been monitored over a period of six months, in order to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of triazolam in the treatment of chronic and sometimes refractory insomnia. The treatment group consisted of twelve chronic in-patients of a specialized institution and eight out-patients treated by a psychiatrist. There were two female drop-outs: one did not show up anymore for unknown reasons, in the other a pregnancy was diagnosed during the third week of treatment. We have found that the optimum mean dose stabilizes approximately around 0,5 mg of triazolam given as a single dose H. S.: slightly higher for the in-patients and slightly lower for the out-patients. This estate of stabilisation is always attained as from the second month and is achieved in a period between four and six months. The tolerance appeared to be excellent, only one fourth of the patients described the classical benzodiazepinen side-effects which never warranted discontinuation of treatment. The efficacy appeared to remain constant after establishing the optimum dosage for every patient. Indeed after the second month the same dosage could be continued in all patients without any need to increase it in order to maintain the desired effect.