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While evidence supports the benefits of medications for the treatment of chronic insomnia, there is ongoing debate regarding their appropriate duration of use. A panel of sleep experts conducted a clinical appraisal regarding the use of insomnia medications, as it relates to the evidence supporting the focus statement, "No insomnia medication should be used on a daily basis for durations longer than 3 weeks at a time". The panelists' assessment was also compared to findings from a national survey of practicing physicians, psychiatrists, and sleep specialists. Survey respondents revealed a wide range of opinions regarding the appropriateness of using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the treatment of insomnia lasting more than 3 weeks. After discussion of the literature, the panel unanimously agreed that some classes of insomnia medications, such as non-benzodiazepines hypnotics, have been shown to be effective and safe for long-term use in the appropriate clinical setting. For eszopiclone, doxepin, ramelteon and the newer class of dual orexin receptor antagonists, the FDA label does not specify that their use should be of a limited duration. Thus, an evaluation of evidence supporting the long-term safety and efficacy of newer non-benzodiazepine hypnotics is timely and should be considered in practice recommendations for the duration of pharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia.

While both patients and physicians consider sleep to be important, sleep health may not receive appropriate consideration during patient visits with health care professionals (HCPs). We completed the first large-scale survey of people with trouble sleeping (PWTS) and physicians who treat insomnia to understand their perspectives and potential discrepancies between them. The Harris Poll conducted online surveys of adult PWTS and HCPs (primary care physicians [PCPs] and psychiatrists) in the United States from September to October 2021. Respondents included 1001 PWTS, 300 PCPs, and 152 psychiatrists. Most HCPs agreed that sleep is critical to good health, yet very few reported routinely conducting full sleep histories on their patients. Approximately 30% of PWTS reported that their PCP never asks about sleep; zero HCPs in this survey reported "never" inquiring. Few HCPs reported being "very satisfied" with current treatment options; 50% of PCPs reported their patients being satisfied. Two-thirds of PWTS did not believe current treatment options adequately improved their sleep. This survey provides evidence that both PWTS and physicians agreed on the importance of sleep, but that treatment is often perceived as ineffective. This survey identifies a need for HCPs to address insomnia management and treatment gaps.

A scientific advisory panel of seven U.S. and Canadian sleep experts performed a clinical appraisal by comparing general medical opinion, assessed via a survey of practicing clinicians, regarding insomnia treatment, with the available scientific evidence. This clinical appraisal focuses on the specific statement, "Treatments for insomnia have uniformly been shown to significantly improve the associated daytime impairment seen with insomnia." The advisory panel reviewed and discussed the available body of evidence within the published medical literature to determine what discrepancies may exist between the currently published evidence base and general medical opinion. The advisory panels' evaluation of this statement was also compared with the results of a national survey of primary care physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and sleep specialists in the United States. Contrary to general medical opinion, the expert advisory panel concluded that the medical literature did not support the statement. This gap highlights the need to educate the general medical community regarding insomnia treatment efficacy in pursuit of improved treatment outcomes.

Trazodone is one of the most commonly used prescription medications for insomnia; however, some recent clinical guidelines do not recommend its use for treating insomnia. This clinical appraisal critically reviews the scientific literature on trazodone as a first-line treatment for insomnia, with the focus statement "Trazodone should never be used as a first-line medication for insomnia." In addition, field surveys were sent to practicing physicians, psychiatrists, and sleep specialists to assess general support for this statement. Subsequently, a meeting with a seven-member panel of key opinion leaders was held to discuss published evidence in support and against the statement. This paper reports on the evidence review, the panel discussion, and the panel's and healthcare professionals' ratings of the statement's acceptability. While the majority of field survey responders disagreed with the statement, the majority of panel members agreed with the statement based on the limited published evidence supporting trazodone as a first-line agent as they understood the term "first-line agent".

Insomnia is a significant, highly prevalent, persistent public health problem but often remains undiagnosed and untreated. Current treatment practices are not always evidence-based. When insomnia is comorbid with anxiety or depression, treatment often targets that comorbid condition with the expectation that improvement of the mental health condition will generalize to sleep symptoms. An expert panel of seven members conducted a clinical appraisal of the literature regarding the treatment of insomnia when comorbid anxiety or depression are also present. The clinical appraisal consisted of the review, presentation, and assessment of current published evidence as it relates to the panel's predetermined clinical focus statement, "Whenever chronic insomnia is associated with another condition, such as anxiety or depression, that psychiatric condition should be the only focus of treatment as the insomnia is most likely a symptom of the condition". The results from an electronic national survey of US-based practicing physicians, psychiatrists, and sleep (N = 508) revealed that >40% of physicians agree "at least somewhat" that treatment of comorbid insomnia should focus solely on the psychiatric condition. Whereas 100% of the expert panel disagreed with the statement. Thus, an important gap exists between current clinical practices and evidence-based guidelines and more awareness is needed so that insomnia is treated distinctly from comorbid anxiety and depression.