Background: Heart failure is a chronic, progressive syndrome of signs and symptoms, which has been associated to a range of comorbidities including insomnia. Acute decompensation of heart failure frequently leads to hospital admission. During hospital admission, long-term pharmacological treatments such as hypnotics can be modified or stopped.
Aim: To synthesize the scientific evidence available about the effect of withdrawing hypnotic drugs during hospital admission in patients with decompensated heart failure and insomnia.
Method: A systematic review of the literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was carried out in the following scientific databases: PubMed, Scopus, Dialnet and Cochrane.
Inclusion criteria: studies including a population of adults with heart failure and sleep disorders in treatment with hypnotics and admitted to hospital, studies written in English or Spanish and published until June 2020.
Exclusion criteria: studies involving children, patients admitted to intensive care and patients diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Results: We identified a total of 265 documents; only nine papers met the selection criteria. The most frequently used drugs for the treatment of insomnia in patients with heart failure were benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine agonists; their secondary effects can alter perceived quality of life and increase the risk of adverse effects. Withdrawal of these drugs during hospital admission could increase the risk of delirium. Future research in this area should evaluate the management of hypnotics during hospital admission in patients with decompensated heart failure. In addition, safe and efficient non-pharmacological alternatives for the treatment of insomnia in this population should be tested and implemented.
Keywords: benzodiazepine; elderly; heart failure; hypnotic; insomnia; sleep disorder.