Effect and safety of paroxetine combined with zolpidem in treatment of primary insomnia

Purpose Primary insomnia is a persistent and recurrent disorder as well as a risk factor for depression. The aim of this study was to determine whether the zolpidem combined with paroxetine would be effective in the treatment of patients with primary insomnia. Methods Ninety patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for primary insomnia were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of treatment with zolpidem combined with paroxetine (the combined treatment group, n = 45) or zolpidem combined with placebo (the control group, n = 45). Patients were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), polysomnography (PSG), and the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS). Results Compared with the control group, the combined treatment group was more significantly improved on wake time after sleep onset (WASO), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), and total PSQI scores, but not the sleep onset latency (SOL). Conclusions Eight weeks of the zolpidem combined with paroxetine treatment to patients with primary insomnia is more effective than zolpidem treatment only in sleep maintenance and early morning awakenings.