Solriamfetol for Excessive Sleepiness in Early-Morning Shift Work Disorder.

BACKGROUND

More individuals work early-morning shifts than night shifts, yet investigations into the treatment of shift work disorder (SWD) in this population are lacking.

METHODS

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of solriamfetol, a selective dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, for treating excessive sleepiness in 78 early-morning shift workers (shift starting between 3 and 7 a.m.) with excessive sleepiness associated with SWD. The primary outcome was change in objective sleepiness, as measured by sleep latency on the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (longer latency reflects less sleepiness). Secondary outcomes included subjective sleepiness measured by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (range 1-9, with higher values indicating greater sleepiness) as well as clinician- and patient-assessed change in clinical condition, using the Clinical Global Impression of Change and Patient Global Impression of Change questionnaires (scores range from 1-7 for both scales, but higher scores indicate worse condition for the clinical scale and improved condition for the patient scale).

RESULTS

After 4 weeks, patients treated with solriamfetol were significantly less sleepy than those treated with placebo (9.4-minute longer sleep latency; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7 to 13.0; P<0.001). Solriamfetol treatment was associated with changed subjective sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale difference, -1.2; 95% CI, -1.7 to -0.7), and changed clinician (odds ratio 3.7; 95% CI, 1.3 to 10.4) and patient (odds ratio, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.5 to 11.6) ratings. Overall, 55% of patients who received any treatment with solriamfetol and 63% of patients receiving placebo reported any adverse event; the most common adverse events were headache and nausea.

CONCLUSIONS

In this randomized trial of a treatment for excessive sleepiness in early-morning shift workers with SWD, solriamfetol significantly improved sleepiness compared with placebo. (Funded by Axsome Therapeutics and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04788953.).