Lormetazepam (Loramet) in the elderly: an acceptability study.

In an open, single centre, general practice study, the short acting benzodiazepine lormetazepam (Loramet) was administered nightly for a period of 7 nights to fifty-eight geriatric insomniacs. All patients took 0.5 mg on the first night but were allowed to increase their dosage to 1.0 mg and 1.5 mg as required. The patients assessed the efficacy and acceptability of lormetazepam with the aid of a diary card completed on each morning of the study. The results showed that 65.5% of the patients reported an improvement in their sleep pattern and 76.9% were taking the 0.5 mg dosage by the last night of the study. Throughout the study there was a progressive increase in the mean duration of sleep and a similar increase in the number of patients awaking refreshed. The effects were significant after the second and third nights, respectively. Three patients withdrew from the study, two due to lack of efficacy and one dropped out following the occurrence of side-effects. It was concluded that the results confirm the efficacy and acceptability of lormetazepam and may suggest 0.5 mg to be a more suitable dosage than 1.0 and 1.5 mg in elderly patients.