Zolpidem-related surge in emergency department visits

摘要

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS IN-volving adverse reactions to the sleep medication Zolpidem increased 220% from 2005 to 2010, from 6111 visits to 19 487 visits, said the authors of a report issued May 1 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Nearly 3 in 4 zolpidem-related emergency department visits involved patients aged 45 years or older, and roughly two-thirds were women. An estimated 50 million to 70 million people in,the United States have-chronic sleep disorders. Zolpidem, a sedative-hfp-notic medicine, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992 for the short-term treatment of insomnia and is the active ingredient in such drugs as Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, and Zolpimist.