Abstract
Triazolam (Halcion) was marketed as a hypnotic in the Netherlands early in 1978. There were tablets of three different strengths: 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg. The product information recommended a dose of “0.25–0.5 mg for elderly patients who have not already been using a sedative or hypnotic drug and 0.5–1 mg for hospitalized patients, psychiatric patients, chronic alcoholics, and patients who were already using other hypnotic or sedative drugs” and included the advice to start in elderly and weakened patients with 0.25 mg. The paragraph on side effects read: “Sedation, hypotension, dizziness, impaired motor coordination, hiccup, headache or nausea are sometimes observed. These side effects usually occur when too high doses are taken.”
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Meyboom, R.H.B. (1992). The Triazolam Experience in 1979 in The Netherlands, a Problem of Signal Generation and Verification. In: Strom, B.L., Velo, G. (eds) Drug Epidemiology and Post-Marketing Surveillance. NATO ASI Series, vol 224. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2587-9_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2587-9_19
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