Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41968099›Full record

Trial reportAnnals of the American Thoracic Society2026

Quetiapine modestly improves sleep and breathing but impairs next-day performance in people with obstructive sleep apnea and difficulty maintaining sleep: a randomized controlled trial.

Cricket Fauska, Tarun Bastiampillai, Georgina Rawson, Barbara Toson, Andrew Vakulin, Robert Adams, Gary Wittert, Kelly A Loffler, Danny J Eckert

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05303935 (Effects of Quetiapine on Sleep and Next Day Alertness in People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05303935 phase2completednot on this map

Effects of Quetiapine on Sleep and Next Day Alertness in People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

TypeinterventionalSponsorFlinders UniversityRan2022 to 2023Enrolled15ConditionsSleep Apnea, ObstructiveArmsQuetiapine 50 MG, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Cricket FauskaFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0009-0002-9993-0576
Tarun BastiampillaiFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6931-2913
Georgina RawsonFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Barbara TosonFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6661-9971
Andrew VakulinFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3919-1313
Robert AdamsFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7572-0796
Gary WittertFreemason Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing, University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6818-6065
Kelly A LofflerFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3302-5995
Danny J EckertFlinders Health and Medical Research Institute Flagship Sleep Health Program/Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3503-2363

Funding

Council of Australia Investigator 1196261National Health and Medical Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleQuetiapine is commonly prescribed "off-label" to people with insomnia symptoms. People with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequently report insomnia symptoms, particularly difficulty maintaining sleep. In 2023, 10.7 million prescriptions were dispensed for quetiapine in the United States. Yet, there is limited information regarding the effects of quetiapine on sleep, breathing, and next-day performance in people with OSA.

objectivesTo determine the effects of 50 mg of quetiapine versus placebo on OSA severity and other polysomnographic parameters plus next-day vigilance and driving simulator performance in people with OSA who also reported difficulty maintaining sleep.

methodsWe performed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study (NCT05303935) in 15 people with OSA and difficulty maintaining sleep. Participants were studied overnight via polysomnography twice approximately 1 week apart and received either 50 mg of quetiapine or placebo (order randomized) just prior to sleep. A 10-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and 30-minute driving simulator test were performed each morning.

resultsCompared to placebo, quetiapine reduced the apnea/hypopnea index (primary outcome) (mean ± SD: 27 ± 16 vs 20 ± 12 events/hour, P = .009), arousal index (32 ± 16 vs 25 ± 9 arousals/hour, P = .012), and increased sleep efficiency (80 ± 11 vs 87 ± 9%, P <.001) without worsening hypoxemia (mean overnight oxygen saturation: 94.7 ± 1.2% vs 94.5 ± 1.5%, P = .38). However, next-morning vigilance (median PVT reaction time: 336 ± 48 vs 382 ± 84 ms, P = .008) and driving simulator performance (steering deviation: 72 ± 38 vs 96 ± 53 cm, P <.01) were significantly impaired with quetiapine.

conclusionsConsistent with a hypnotic effect, a single night of low-dose quetiapine reduced OSA severity as measured via the apnea/hypopnea index and increased sleep efficiency without worsening overnight hypoxemia. However, there was evidence of next-day impairment in vigilance and driving simulator performance. CLINICAL

trial registrationNCT05303935.

Indexed as

Antipsychotic AgentsPsychomotor PerformanceQuetiapine FumarateRespirationSleepSleep Apnea, ObstructiveSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersAdultAutomobile DrivingCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolysomnographyAntipsychotic AgentsQuetiapine Fumarateantipsychoticdrivinghypnoticinsomniasleep disordered breathing

Identifiers

PMID41968099
PMCPMC13626228

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.