Lunesta (Eszopiclone) Drug Information: Overdosage and Contraindications

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May 27, 2012

Lunesta

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Insomnia is difficulty in falling or staying asleep, the absence of restful sleep, or poor quality of sleep. Insomnia is a symptom and not a disease. The most common causes of insomnia are:

medications,
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environmental changes (travel, jet lag, or altitude changes), and
stressful events or a stressful lifestyle.

Insomnia can also be caused by poor sleeping habits such as excessive daytime naps or caffeine consumption and poor sleep hygiene.

The National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health estimates 30%-40% of adults report some symptoms of insomnia each year, and about 10%-15% report they have chronic insomnia.

Insomnia may be classified by how long the symptoms are present.

Transient insomnia usually i...

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OVERDOSE

There is limited premarketing clinical experience with the effects of an overdosage of LUNESTA. In clinical trials with eszopiclone, one case of overdose with up to 36 mg of eszopiclone was reported in which the subject fully recovered. Individuals have fully recovered from racemic zopiclone overdoses up to 340 mg (56 times the maximum recommended dose of eszopiclone).

Signs And Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of overdose effects of CNS depressants can be expected to present as exaggerations of the pharmacological effects noted in preclinical testing. Impairment of consciousness ranging from somnolence to coma has been described. Rare individual instances of fatal outcomes following overdose with racemic zopiclone have been reported in European postmarketing reports, most often associated with overdose with other CNS depressant agents.

Recommended Treatment

General symptomatic and supportive measures should be used along with immediate gastric lavage where appropriate. Intravenous fluids should be administered as needed. Flumazenil may be useful. As in all cases of drug overdose, respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and other appropriate signs should be monitored and general supportive measures employed. Hypotension and CNS depression should be monitored and treated by appropriate medical intervention. The value of dialysis in the treatment of overdosage has not been determined.

Poison Control Center

As with the management of all overdosage, the possibility of multiple drug ingestion should be considered. The physician may wish to consider contacting a poison control center for up-to-date information on the management of hypnotic drug product overdosage.