Clonidine is Better Than Zopiclone for Insomnia Treatment in Chronic Pain Patients

Salem Anaesthesia Pain Clinic150 enrolled

Overview

A prospective observational crossover study of 160 consenting adult patients who underwent pain management. For insomnia treatment, each patient ingested different prescribed doses of Zopiclone or Clonidine on alternate nights. Each patient used a special validated sleep diary to collect data including pain score, sleep scores, sleep duration, sleep medication dose, and adverse effects. Each patient completed the diary for 3 continuous weeks. Pain was measured using the numeric pain rating scale. Sleep score was measured using the Likert sleep scale. A change in the pain or sleep scores by 2-points was considered significant.

Objectives: Chronic pain is associated with insomnia. The objective of this clinical study is to compare the efficacy and safety of different prescribed doses of Zopiclone and Clonidine; for the management of insomnia in patients with chronic pain. Methods: A prospective observational crossover study of 160 consenting adult patients who underwent pain management. For insomnia treatment, each patient ingested different prescribed doses of Zopiclone or Clonidine on alternate nights. Each patient used a special validated sleep diary to collect data including pain score, sleep scores, sleep duration, sleep medication dose, and adverse effects. Each patient completed the diary for 3 continuous weeks. Pain was measured using the numeric pain rating scale. Sleep score was measured using the Likert sleep scale. A change in the pain or sleep scores by 2-points was considered significant. Data were analyzed with IBM® SPSS® Statistics 25 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY); using Student's t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Chi-square test, and regression analysis. P-value \<0.05 was considered significant.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

150

Conditions

Insomnia Chronic Pain, Chronic

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 20 YearsMax age: 99 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * adult chronic pain patients * good treatment compliance * severe chronic insomnia * failure of non-pharmacologic sleep therapy * regular zopiclone therapy for 3 months or more * regular sleep diary * regular pain diary * informed consent for diary review * consent for clinical record quality assurance review. Exclusion Criteria: * obstructive sleep apnoea * body mass index (BMI) ≥40 * organ insufficiency * cognitive disorder * inability to provide consent * major neuropsychiatric disorder * unreliable diary * cannabis use * regular alcohol intake * stimulant use * substance abuse * poor treatment compliance * high dose opioid * gabapentinoid use * sedative use * mild insomina * irregular zopiclone intake * regular zopiclone therapy for less than 3 months * previous adverse/allergic reactions to clonidine or zopiclone.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Sleep quality score, objective measurement using the validated Likert sleep scale

Sleep quality score, using the Likert sleep scale of 0 to 10, low scores indicate poor sleep, high scores indicate better sleep

Time frame: 3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Pain score, objective measurement using the validated Numeric Pain Rating scale

Pain score, using the Numeric Pain Rating scale of 0 to 10, low scores indicate less pain, high scores indicate worse pain