A toxicologist at a state laboratory woke up the nation with a small study reported here about the bizarre behavior of some motorists who overdosed on Ambien (zolpidem).
The six-patient report by Laura Liddicoat, supervisor of the toxicology section of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene in Madison, made headlines everywhere and was featured on every TV newscast.
In her presentation at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting, Liddicoat discussed how drivers under the influence of Ambien crashed their cars with no memory of it. It seems that the impaired drivers taking the best-selling prescription sleeping pill exceeded the safe drug dose and failed to sleep it off.
Referring to the six cases, she said that the pattern involved taking the drug and not going to bed, or taking more than the recommended dose. Some got up and drove in the middle of the night. Others took the drug with the idea of driving home and then going to sleep.
"They haven't slept it out and the drug was still in their system," she said. In addition, Ambien was sometimes taken along with other antidepressants, although alcohol was not involved in these six cases.
Sanofi Aventis commented that "the drug's record after 13 years of use in this country shows it is safe when taken as directed," adding that it has provided the FDA with reports of people driving while sleep walking, according to the New York Times.
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