Lemborexant and Taste Disturbances

Comparison with Other Sleep Medications

• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine notes that zopiclone and eszopiclone are consistently associated with unpleasant bitter/metallic taste, occurring in approximately 7-26% of patients 1
• Eszopiclone studies have reported unpleasant taste in up to 26.1% of patients versus 5.6% with placebo, as documented by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 1

Other Medications Associated with Taste Disturbances

• The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery reports that azelastine nasal spray causes bitter taste in 19.7% of patients 2
• Olopatadine nasal spray causes bitter taste in 12.8% of patients, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2
• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine documents that nefazodone, used for treatment of PTSD-associated nightmares, has been reported to cause bitter taste 3

Clinical Implications

• The American College of Clinical Pharmacy suggests that when selecting medications for insomnia treatment, patients with particular sensitivity to taste disturbances may prefer lemborexant over medications like eszopiclone 1