Drug utilization review of concomitant use of specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors or clomipramine with antianxiety/sleep medications.

Side effects of some antidepressants include anxiety and insomnia. A retrospective drug utilization review was conducted to determine the amount of concurrent use of an antidepressant with medication that may counteract these side effects. Texas Medicaid claims data for 1993 included more than 30,000 patients receiving a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or clomipramine. A total of 35.0% of these patients were also taking a medication that could be used to relieve anxiety or induce sleep, and 15.2% of the total were receiving once-daily dosing of the latter type of medication. Concomitant use of SSRIs or clomipramine with trazodone occurred in 7.7% of the patients.