Adverse effects trazodone

Trazodone routinely causes sedation, which is why it is used far more often as an adjunct with other antidepressants for sleep than as a primary agent for the treatment of depression. Priapism is a rare but serious adverse effect in males who take trazodone. In addition, orthostatic hypotension and dizziness are more common with trazodone than with nefazodone because the latter agent has a weaker effect at a-adrenergic receptors and also has a balancing of adrenergic effects owing... 

Imipramine treatment resulted in a higher rate of remission of anxiety symptoms than trazodone, diazepam, or placebo (e.g., 73% versus 69% versus 66% versus 47%) in an 8-week controlled trial of DSM-III-diagnosed GAD patients. Antidepressants were more effective than diazepam or placebo in reducing psychic symptoms of anxiety. The use of TCAs generally is limited by bothersome adverse effects (e.g., sedation, orthostatic hypotension, anticholinergic effects, and weight gain). 

The answer is a. (Katzung, p 499.) Of the listed a n tide press ants, only amitriptyline, a tricyclic, causes adverse effects related to blockade of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Both trazodone and amitriptyline cause adverse effects related to a-adrenoreceptor blockade... 

In contrast to decreased libido seen with SSRIs and venlafaxine, concerns about priapism invariably arise when trazodone is discussed. This adverse effect is rare, occurring in only 1 of 6,000 treated male patients (456, 457). If the patient is informed of this possibility and discontinues the drug promptly, priapism usually resolves without further intervention. Although earlier persistent cases were treated surgically, this approach carries a 50% chance of permanent impotence pharmacological intervention via direct injections into the cavernous bulbosa is preferable ( 458, 459). Using this approach, the chance of permanent impotence is low and depends on the duration of symptoms before treatment (460). This latter fact is another reason to fully inform the male patient on trazodone, so that early detection and intervention can be implemented. 

Sedative antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, doxepin, or trazodone, in low doses, have hypnotic efficacy and may be less likely to evoke the adverse effects associated with higher doses. 

All SSRIs have an antipanic effect. Their advantages are limited adverse effects and lack of toxicity. Because of more acceptable adverse effect profiles, the SSRIs are usually the drugs of choice. Several studies consistently indicate that SSRIs such as fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, as well as agents such as clomipramine and trazodone, all possess antipanic efficacy, although the last may be less effective than imipramine ( 24, 105, 106, 107, 108 and 109). 

The SSRis may avoid some of the more serious adverse effects seen with the TCAs. Thus, if expense is not a major concern, the SSRIs are increasingly considered an appropriate first choice (290, 291). Trazodone and bupropion are also appealing because of their milder anticholinergic and cardiovascular effects ( 292). With milder mood disturbances, a brief trial with psychostimuiants, such as methyiphenidate, can be attempted. 

Trimipramine is a sedating tricyclic antidepressant that has been used as a hypnotic (1) it shares this activity with other drugs of its class, notably amitriptyline, dosulepin, doxepin, and trazodone, and with the tetracyclics mianserin and mirtazapine. Trimipramine may be preferred for this purpose, since it has less effect on sleep architecture, including REM sleep (2), and has only a modest propensity to produce rebound insomnia in a subset of patients (3). Sedative antidepressants may be particularly appropriate for individuals at risk of benzodiazepine abuse and patients with chronic pain (4). The usual pattern of tricyclic adverse effects, especially antimuscarinic and hypotensive effects and weight gain, can be expected. Some authors, enthusiastic about GABA enhancers, contend that antidepressants are not useful hypnotic alternatives (5). 

A rare but potentially serious adverse effect of trazodone is priapism, which is reported to occur in approximately 1 in 6000 male patients. Some cases have required surgical intervention (1 in 23,000), and permanent impotence may result. There have been no reports of priapism associated with nefazodone use in men, but there is a published case report of nefazodone-induced clitoral priapism. ... 

The adverse effects of trazodone, when used for erectile dysfunction, are similar to those reported with trazodone when used to treat depression (see Chap. 67). 

Compare the adverse effects of trazodone and those of tricyclic antidepressants. 

A retrospective study of patients with Parkinson s disease taking selegiline 5 to to mg daily (and other anti-parkinson drugs such as levo-dopa/carbidopa, bromocriptine, amantadine, pergolide, and antimuscarinics) noted that the addition of trazodone 25 to 150 mg daily caused no adverse effects and the patients appeared to obtain overall benefit, including some improvement in parkinsonian symptoms. ... 

A study, undertaken to confirm the involvement of the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme CYT2D6 in the metabolism of trazodone, found that when 11 depressed patients were given trazodone 150 to 300 mg at bedtime for 18 weeks, and then with thioridazine 20 mg twice daily for one week, the plasma levels of the trazodone and its active metabolite, /w-chlorophenyl-piperazine, rose by 36% and 54%, respectively. No adverse reactions were described. In contrast, a case of fatal hepatic necrosis with cholestasis has been attributed to the concurrent use of trazodone and phenothiazines. A 72-year-old woman taking trifluoperazine, trazodone and lithium carbonate developed an elevated alanine aminotransferase level. Trifluoperazine was replaced with thioridazine, but 9 weeks later she became jaundiced and developed hepatic encephalopathy, and died 6 weeks after the onset of jaundice. The authors consider that the combination of the phenothiazines and trazodone were the cause of her hepatic necrosis both phenothiazines and trazodone have been reported to individually cause hepatic adverse effects. ... 

A study in 14 treatment-resistant depressed patients aged between 61 and 82 found that 7 showed eomplete improvement and 3 showed partial improvement, 3 to 21 days after lithium was added to treatment with the tricyclic or related antidepressants. Lithium adverse effects occurred in 6 patients 4 of whom stopped lithium as a result. One of them was successfully restarted at a lower dose. Tremor was the most frequent adverse effect, and reversible neurotoxicity with a stroke-like syndrome was the most severe. The antidepressants used were amitriptyline, doxepin, maprotiline and trazodone. A meta-analysis of 9 studies on the acute treatment of unipolar or bipolar depression indicated that the combined use of a mood stabiliser (lithium in 6 studies) and a tricyclic antidepressant was associated with an increased risk of switches into (hypo)mania, when compared with a mood stabiliser alone. It was suggested that monotherapy with a mood stabiliser should be tried to see if it is effective, before adding an antidepressant. Tricyclics were considered to be second-line antidepressants, with SSRIs the preferred choice. ... 

The manufacturers of trazodone say that in vitro drug metabolism studies suggest that there is a potential for drug interactions when trazodone is given with a potent CYP3A4 inhibitor such as nefazodone. There may be substantial increases in trazodone levels, with the potential for adverse effects, and a lower dose oftrazodone should be considered. The UK manufacturer suggests avoidance of the combination where possible. ... 

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