Clinical safety and narcolepsy-like symptoms of dual orexin receptor antagonists in patients with insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) are emerging treatments for insomnia. This meta-analysis study aimed to assess the safety of FDA-approved DORAs (suvorexant, lemborexant, and daridorexant), focusing on narcolepsy-like symptoms associated with these drugs. METHODS: Five prominent databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on this topic. Primary safety outcomes included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), treatment-related TEAEs, TEAEs leading to discontinuation, and serious TEAEs. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep paralysis, and hallucinations were categorized as adverse events (AEs)-related narcolepsy-like symptoms. RESULTS: Eleven RCTs with 7703 patients were included. DORAs were associated with a higher risk of TEAEs (risk ratio [RR], 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.15) and treatment-related TEAEs (RR, 1.69; 95% CI: 1.49 to 1.92) when compared to placebo. The DORA group exhibited a significantly higher risk of EDS (RR, 2.15; 95% CI: 1.02 to 4.52) and sleep paralysis (RR, 3.40; 95% CI: 1.18 to 9.80) compared to the placebo group. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis achieved a comparative evaluation of the clinical safety and tolerability of FDA-approved DORAs for primary insomnia, specifically focusing on AEs-related narcolepsy-like symptoms. This study contributes to understanding the safety profile of FDA-approved DORAs for treating insomnia.