Krystal 2010.
Methods | Randomised, parallel group, controlled trial | |
Participants |
Insomnia diagnosis criteria (method of diagnosis): DSM‐IV‐TR primary diagnosis of insomnia Other diagnoses: not stated Number of participants randomised: n = 240 Doxepin 1 mg: n = 77 Doxepin 3 mg: n = 82 Number of participants: n = 214 Doxepin 1 mg: n = 70 Doxepin 3 mg: n = 74 Age, mean (SD) years: 71.4 (5.2) Doxepin 1 mg: 71.3 (5.2) Doxepin 3 mg: 71.4 (4.9) Placebo: 71.5 (5.5) Gender (M/F): 35%/65% Doxepin 1 mg: 35%/65% Doxepin 3 mg: 30%/70% Race/ethnicity: 80% white; 9% African‐American; 9% Hispanic; 2% other Doxepin 1 mg: 82% white; 6% African‐American; 10% Hispanic; 1% other Doxepin 3 mg: 77% white; 12% African‐American; 11% Hispanic; 1% other Placebo: 83% white; 7% African‐American; 5% Hispanic; 5% other Country: USA Setting: multicentre study in 31 sleep centres Included: aged > 65 years; insomnia (DSM‐IV‐TR and sleep diaries) > 3 months, PSG LPS > 10 min, wake time during sleep ≥ 60 min and TST > 240 and ≤ 390 Excluded: excessive use of alcohol, nicotine or caffeinated beverages (no measurement given); intentional napping > twice a week; variation in bedtime; use of hypnotic medication or other medication that affects sleep; ≥ 15 apnoea/hypopnoea events per hr Withdrawals: Doxepin 1 mg: 7‐9% (1% adverse event, 3% protocol violation, 4% non‐compliance, 1% other) Doxepin 3 mg: 8‐10% (4% adverse event, 2% consent withdrawn, 1% protocol violation, 2% other) Placebo: 11‐14% (4% adverse effect; 7% consent withdrawn; 2% protocol violation) Baseline imbalances: slight gender imbalances across 3 groups |
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Interventions |
Intervention: doxepin 1 mg and 2 mg; night‐time administration of drug 30 min prior to bed time; supervised in the laboratory on study nights or self‐administered at home. Administered for 12 weeks Comparator: placebo; night‐time administration of drug 30 min prior to bed time; supervised in the laboratory on study nights or self‐administered at home. Administered for 12 weeks. 1 week of single‐blind placebo administration to all eligible participants prior to treatment phase |
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Outcomes |
Primary outcomes Subjective ratings of LSO, TST and sleep quality ISI PGI scale of sleep, 5‐item rating Secondary outcomes EEG data reported for WASO, TST, SE% last quarter of the night, NAW and LPS Measures of next‐day psychomotor functioning, subjective next‐day alertness or drowsiness Adverse effects |
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Notes | ||
Risk of bias | ||
Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Unclear risk | Randomisation done by an external person/group, but no details given |
Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Unclear risk | No details given |
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | Unclear risk | Reported double blind, but no further details |
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Unclear risk | Reported double blind, but no further details |
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | High risk | 26/240 participants did not complete the study (Pg 1555, "study population"). No imputation for ITT analysis |
Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Unclear risk | Some self‐report data that were not available at baseline were imputed. |
Other bias | High risk | Study funded by a pharmaceutical company and authors salaries were paid by the same company. |