Zopiclone abuse among polydrug users

Sikdar, Sudip; Ruben, Susan M.

doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1996.tb03190.x

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In a survey of 100 clients attending a methadone maintenance program at a Liverpool clinic, six admitted to using zopiclone in daily doses up to 50 times the therapeutic dose over periods of between six and 24 months [8]. All six had previously used temazepam but preferred zopiclone because of its lack of amnesic side effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term misuse of zopiclone in an alcohol dependent woman with a history of anorexia nervosa: a case report

Morinan

Keaney

2010

J Med Case Reports

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IntroductionThe Z-drugs, zaleplon, zopiclone and zolpidem, are short-acting hypnotics which act at the same receptor as the benzodiazepines, but seemingly without the potential for misuse and the development of dependence of the older benzodiazepines. However, with increased prescribing of Z-drugs, reports of misuse and possible dependence began to appear in the literature, particularly in people with a history of substance misuse and comorbid psychiatric illness. Here we report the case of a woman with a history of chronic zopiclone use and anorexia nervosa, admitted for alcohol detoxification.Case presentationA 31-year old Caucasian British woman with a history of long-term zopiclone use and anorexia nervosa was admitted as an inpatient for a ten-day alcohol detoxification. Her weekly (four days out of seven) intake of alcohol was 180 units and her daily intake of zopiclone, 30 mg. Apart from a short period five years ago, she had been taking zopiclone for 13 years at daily doses of up to 90 mg. She admitted to using 'on top' of her prescribed medication, purchasing extra tablets from friends or receiving them gratis from her partner. After detoxification from alcohol and zopiclone, she was prescribed diazepam which she found ineffectual and voiced her intention of returning to zopiclone on leaving the hospital.ConclusionZopiclone is generally regarded as safer than benzodiazepines, however, this particular individual, who was using high doses of zopiclone over many years, may provide further evidence of a risk of dependency when this drug is prescribed for substance users with a comorbid psychiatric illness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term misuse of zopiclone in an alcohol dependent woman with a history of anorexia nervosa: a case report

Morinan

Keaney

2010

J Med Case Reports

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“…Clinical reports indicate that there may be an abuse of zopiclone (6,7). The need for a good screening methodology led to the development of a method using LC with UV detection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The same year, Sutherland (5) reported a case where a patient recovering from narcotic addiction experienced a relapse when he started to use zopiclone by prescription. There have also been reports from drug treatment centers about patients abusing zopiclone (6,7). In 1999, Rush et al (8) published a study in which they compared the abuse potential of the analog zolpidem (Ambien™, Stilnoct™) to the benzodiazepine triazolam.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Chromatographic Screening for Zopiclone and Metabolites in Urine Using Liquid Chromatography and Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Techniques

Nordgren¹,

Bodin²,

Beck³

2002

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

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Zopiclone is a benzodiazepine-like hypnotic that was believed not to have any abuse potential. Nevertheless, during the past few years there have been an increasing number of reports on the abuse and misuse of zopiclone. Despite this, methods for screening analysis in urine are lacking. To investigate whether UV detection would be possible to use for this purpose, a liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection for analyzing zopiclone and its urinary metabolites was developed, with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for confirmation. The method was used for analyzing samples from subjects receiving methadone. The limits of detection were approximately 100 ng/mL in control urine samples and 500 ng/mL in urine samples from subjects receiving methadone. However, due to the high background in these patients' urine, a single therapeutic dose was impossible to detect.

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“…Abhängigkeitsentwicklungen bei sachgemäßer Verordnung von Zopiclon gelten als Rarität und kommen zumeist bei Patienten mit bekannten Suchterkrankungen und anderen psychischen Störungen vor (3,4,5). Im vorliegenden Fall bestand eine primäre Zopiclonabhängigkeit nach sukzessiver Steigerung der therapeutischen Dosis um das 20fache mit passagerer euphorisierender Wirkung sowie ausgeprägter Angst, Unruhezustände und Dysphorie bei eigenständigen Absetzversuchen.…”

Section: Diskussionunclassified