Hallucinations Associated with Ropinirole Use

Incidence and Risk Factors

• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends against the standard use of ropinirole for restless legs syndrome due to concerns about adverse effects with long-term use, and suggests that ropinirole may only be considered in patients who place higher value on short-term symptom reduction and lower value on long-term adverse effects 1
• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines represent a shift from older guidelines that recommended dopamine agonists like ropinirole as first-line treatment, which acknowledged side effects including hallucinations in older patients 2

Clinical Presentation and Severity

• The American Geriatrics Society acknowledged that dopamine agonists like ropinirole can cause hallucinations in older patients, as stated in their 2009 guidelines 3