CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 116Sleep and related disordersSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesAlcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency

Trazodone for sleep disturbance after alcohol detoxification: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Open access
Friedmann, Peter D., Rose, Jennifer S., Swift, Robert, Stout, Robert L., Millman, Richard P., Stein, Michael D.·2008·Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research
DOI 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00742.xPMC PMC2567128
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Trazodone is a commonly prescribed off-label for sleep disturbance in alcohol-dependent patients, but its safety and efficacy for this indication is unknown. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-control trial of low-dose trazodone (50 to 150 mg at bedtime) for 12 weeks among 173 alcohol detoxification patients who reported current sleep disturbance on a validated measure of sleep quality or during prior periods of abstinence. Primary outcomes were the proportion of days abstinent and drinks per drinking day over 6-months; sleep quality was also assessed. RESULTS: Urn randomization balanced baseline features among the 88 subjects who received trazodone and 85 who received placebo. The trazodone group experienced less improvement in the proportion of days abstinent during administration of study medication (mean change between baseline and 3 months: -0.12; 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.09), and an increase in the number of drinks per drinking day on cessation of the study medication (mean change between baseline and 6 months, 4.6; 95% CI: 2.1 to 7.1). Trazodone was associated with improved sleep quality during its administration (mean change on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index between baseline and 3 months: -3.02; 95% CI: -3.38 to -2.67), but after it was stopped sleep quality equalized with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Trazodone, despite a short-term benefit on sleep quality, might impede improvements in alcohol consumption in the postdetoxification period and lead to increased drinking when stopped. Until further studies have established benefits and safety, routine initiation of trazodone for sleep disturbance cannot be recommended with confidence during the period after detoxification from alcoholism.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00742.x

Cites

44 of 44 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Friedmann and colleagues (2008) documented improvements in sleep quality as a result of treatment with trazodone.

    “While some of the pharmacological intervention studies may have been underpowered to detect secondary outcomes, Friedmann and colleagues (2008) were sufficiently powered to detect changes in abstinence as a function of treatment and did document improvements in sleep quality as a result of treatment with trazodone.”

    From Insomnia treatment in the context of alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2017) · cites this paper as Friedmann et al., 2008

  • Friedmann and colleagues (2008) were sufficiently powered to detect changes in abstinence as a function of treatment.

    “While some of the pharmacological intervention studies may have been underpowered to detect secondary outcomes, Friedmann and colleagues (2008) were sufficiently powered to detect changes in abstinence as a function of treatment and did document improvements in sleep quality as a result of treatment with trazodone.”

    From Insomnia treatment in the context of alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2017) · cites this paper as Friedmann et al., 2008

  • In Friedmann and colleagues (2008), the sample consisted of recently detoxified patients, only 25% of whom had engaged in formal substance use treatment by one-month follow-up.

    “However, their sample also consisted of recently detoxified patients, only 25% of whom had engaged in formal substance use treatment by one-month follow-up.”

    From Insomnia treatment in the context of alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2017) · cites this paper as Friedmann et al., 2008

  • In Friedmann and colleagues (2008), participants in the trazodone group reported a smaller increase in abstinent days than those in the placebo group.

    “However, in contrast to hypotheses, they found that participants in the trazodone group reported a smaller increase in abstinent days than those in the placebo group.”

    From Insomnia treatment in the context of alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2017) · cites this paper as Friedmann et al., 2008

  • Adult sleep treatment studies in recovering drinkers consistently report improvements in sleep, but either indeterminate effects on alcohol outcomes in cognitive-behavioral treatment studies or worse alcohol outcomes following pharmacological treatment.

    “Adult sleep treatment studies in recovering drinkers consistently report improvements in sleep, but either indeterminate effects on alcohol outcomes in cognitive-behavioral treatment studies (Arnedt et al., 2007; Arnedt, Conroy, Armitage, & Brower, 2011; Currie, Clark, Hodgins, & El-Guebaly, 2004) or worse alcohol outcomes following pharmacological treatment (Friedmann et al., 2008).”

    From Sleep and circadian contributions to adolescent alcohol use disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Friedmann et al., 2008

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Sobell LC Sobell MB Litten RZ Allen J Timeline followback: a technique for assessing self-reported alcohol consumption. Measuring alcohol consumption: psychological and biological methods 1992 41 72 Humana Press New Jersey
  2. Ware JE Kosinski M Keller SD How to Score the SF-12 Physical & Mental Health Summary Scales 1995 The Health Institute, New England Medical Center Boston, MA Second edition ed.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Friedmann, P. D., Rose, J. S., Swift, R., Stout, R. L., Millman, R. P., & Stein, M. D.
Affiliations
Brown University (US)
Corresponding author
Friedmann, Peter D.
ORCID
Venue
Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2008-08-25
Volume
32
Issue
9
Pages
1652-1660
ISSN
  • 0145-6008 (ISSN-L)
  • 1530-0277
DOI
10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00742.x
PMC
PMC2567128
OpenAlex
W2091013876
Cited by
116
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
FWCI
5.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA13243, R01AA013243)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Alcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency
Keywords
trazodone, sleep disorders, alcohol detoxification, alcoholism, sleep quality, alcohol abstinence, relapse, off-label drug use
MeSH terms
Adult, Ethanol, Alcoholism, Central Nervous System Depressants, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Male, Inactivation, Metabolic, Middle Aged, Sleep Wake Disorders, Anti-Anxiety Agents, Trazodone, Treatment Outcome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review