[Insomnia in hospital]

Abstract

- Every night in hospitals physicians on night shift are confronted with insomnia among their patients and have to make a decision on prescribing sleeping medication.- The extent to which insomnia is disadvantageous to hospital patients and its effects on clinical outcomes have not been well investigated.- A recent systematic review concluded that it is not known if treatment of insomnia with medication, such as melatonin or benzodiazepines, has a beneficial or a disadvantageous effect on clinical outcomes. This also holds true for non-pharmacological interventions.- The adverse effects of melatonin have not been properly quantitatively investigated. The use of benzodiazepines is related to potentially severe adverse events such as falling, respiratory infections and the risk of addiction.- Until such time that reliable scientific data are available, we advise caution in prescribing sleep medication for patients in hospital.