Prolonged hypnotic response to triazolam-cimetidine combination in an elderly patient

An 82-year-old white female developed a 36-hour episode of unresponsiveness/drowsiness after a single dose of triazolam 0.5 mg in combination with cimetidine. This case illustrates the need for careful dose-titration of drug therapy in the elderly, particularly when a drug with the potential to impair drug metabolism is coadministered. Cimetidine, when coadministered with triazolam, may increase the intensity and duration of action of single doses of triazolam.