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Trazodone

  • Prescription medicine
  • Prescription only
  • Identity checked
  • Sources last checked 2026-09-04

This page shows what was measured, who it was measured in, and what that does not settle.

What Trazodone does in the body

Approved for depression and commonly used without approval as a sleep aid.

Trazodone does two things at once, and the label emphasises the smaller one. It blocks the serotonin recycling pump, weakly. Much more strongly, it blocks a serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A, and it blocks the alpha-1 receptors that keep blood vessels tight. Blocking those last two is what makes people drowsy and what makes their blood pressure drop when they stand up — which is why the drug is mostly used as a sleeping tablet even though it is licensed as an antidepressant.

What happened in people

In a large antidepressant comparison, trazodone was among the least effective and among those people stopped most often.

Reviewed first-read answer

Where this came from

A person wrote this and a reviewer approved it against this exact record. It carries no effect size.

A reviewer approved this against this record. The reviewed-claim record carrying the exact population and effect size does not exist yet.

No source is stored against this line.

The limit that matters most

Sleep guidelines advise against it because direct evidence for insomnia is weak.

Where it acts
Serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the central nervous system, and alpha-1 adrenergic receptors on vascular smooth muscle, which is where the postural drop in blood pressure comes from
Kind of result
The kind of result is not recorded
Supervision
Professional supervision is normally required. A regulator classifies this substance in a way that restricts how it is supplied.
Where each sentence above came from

The recorded explanation is written in label language rather than for a beginner. The page opens with what it is taken for instead, and the recorded explanation follows below.

Shown as the opening line on this page.

The limit a reviewer approved as the one that matters most here.

The four opening statements run to 113 words.

Words this page uses

Four words worth knowing first

Chosen from what this page shows, with each one explained before the word it depends on.

Randomisation

Randomisation means chance decides who gets which treatment.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

It is like a coin toss deciding the groups.

Where that stops being true. A coin toss is fair once. Fairness here comes from doing it for everyone.

What people get wrong. It is thought to make groups identical. It makes them similar on average, including on things nobody measured.

Allocation of participants to arms by a chance process, so that unmeasured factors are balanced in expectation.

Enzyme

An enzyme is a protein that speeds up one chemical change.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

An enzyme is like a machine on a production line doing one cut.

Where that stops being true. A machine is switched on and off by a person. Enzymes are controlled by the cell.

What people get wrong. Enzymes are thought to be used up. They are not; they work again and again.

A catalytic protein that lowers the activation energy of a specific reaction.

Receptor

A receptor is a part of a cell that a signal fits into.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A receptor is like a lock waiting for one key.

Where that stops being true. A lock either opens or does not. A receptor can be half-triggered, or worn out.

What people get wrong. Fitting a receptor is read as causing a benefit. It causes a step, and nothing more.

A protein that binds a specific ligand and converts that binding into a cellular response.

Pathway

A pathway is a chain of steps inside a cell, each one setting off the next.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A pathway is like a row of dominoes.

Where that stops being true. Dominoes fall one way. Pathways loop back and can switch themselves off.

What people get wrong. Changing one step is read as changing the outcome. Other steps often absorb it.

An ordered series of molecular interactions producing a defined cellular change.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What was measured, goal by goal

One row for each goal a registered study measured something for. One column for each kind of thing that could be measured.

Registered studies list 18 outcome measures that RNAWiki could read. A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. 0 of the matched studies tested this substance, and 0 posted a result.

There is no single score. A strong test result and a weak life result are different facts.

Goals down the side, kinds of measurement across the top. Each cell says what kind of thing was registered, not what was found.
GoalLife outcomeWhat a body can doHow a person feelsA test resultA step in the bodyHarmsHow longWho was studied
SleepWaiting for a reviewer1 registered study measure of this kind. No reviewed result yet.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.Waiting for a reviewer2 registered symptom measure.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a test result for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
MoodNothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.Waiting for a reviewer2 registered symptom measure.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a test result for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Which registered measures put each goal on this table
Sleep
nighttime total sleep time; who met remission as measured by the insomnia severity index; insomnia severity index; insomnia symptom severity; promis sleep disturbance t
Mood
hamilton depression scale continuous; hamilton depression rating scale

Sorted by fixed word lists, version v1. A name the rules do not recognise stays unsorted rather than moving to the nearest column.

What each mark on this table means
Waiting for a reviewer
1 registered study measure of this kind. No reviewed result yet.
Nothing in the sources checked
No registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.
Not recorded
Harms were not a registered measure for this goal.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What happened in people

Each card is one study: the exact question it asked, who was in it, and whether it showed what it set out to show.

Efficacy as response rate and acceptability as all-cause treatment discontinuation, across 21 antidepressants in adults with major depressive disorder

The study showed what it set out to show

Who was studied
2018 network meta-analysis of 21 antidepressants (Lancet 2018;391:1357-1366)
How many people
116477
Study design
Systematic review and network meta-analysis of 522 randomised trials
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
All 21 drugs more effective than placebo. In head-to-head studies trazodone was among the least efficacious (range of odds ratios 0.51 to 0.84) and among those with the highest dropout rates (1.30 to 2.32)
Repeated elsewhere
Replicated

What this does not prove. Meeting one endpoint in one population does not carry to other goals or other people.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. 46 of 522 trials (9%) were rated at high risk of bias, 380 (73%) at moderate, and certainty of evidence was moderate to very low. Trazodone is one of only three drugs appearing in both the least-efficacious and highest-dropout groups.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

Whether individual drugs, including several without an FDA insomnia indication, should be used for sleep onset or sleep maintenance insomnia in adults

The study did not show it

Who was studied
AASM clinical practice guideline systematic review (J Clin Sleep Med 2017;13:307-349)
How many people
0
Study design
Systematic review of randomised controlled trials with GRADE assessment
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Recommendation against: "We suggest that clinicians not use trazodone as a treatment for sleep onset or sleep maintenance insomnia (versus no treatment) in adults. (WEAK)"
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. The guideline is a synthesis rather than a trial and reports no single randomised sample, so none is asserted here. The same guideline recommends against melatonin, valerian, tryptophan, diphenhydramine and tiagabine in identical terms, and suggests doxepin for sleep maintenance insomnia.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

Annual proportion of commercially insured adults, and of those with an insomnia diagnosis, dispensed low-dose trazodone or zolpidem between 2011 and 2018

The study showed what it set out to show

Who was studied
Dispensing cohort, IBM MarketScan 2011-2018 (JAMA 2020;324:2211-2213)
How many people
0
Study design
Retrospective analysis of commercial and Medicare supplemental claims
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Low-dose trazodone rose from 1.25% to 1.82% of all adults (+0.07 points/year) and from 8.68% to 14.46% of adults with insomnia (+0.69 points/year); zolpidem fell from 4.56% to 2.50% and from 33.65% to 22.60% respectively
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. Meeting one endpoint in one population does not carry to other goals or other people.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. The study reports population proportions rather than a randomised sample, so no sample size is asserted here. Trazodone dispensing continued to increase through the period before and to nearly two years after the 2017 guideline advising against its use for insomnia.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

What we know
RNAWiki holds 3 written-up human studies for this substance, each with the question it asked.
How we know it
Each card names the study, the number of people and what the study set out to measure.
What this does not prove
These summaries were written by a person and have not been signed off as reviewed claims.
Why it matters
A study that failed is as informative as one that worked, and both are here.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim exists, so no exact population, effect size or interval is published yet.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

How close this is to real life

The top step is something a person would feel or care about. The bottom is a guess from software. Filled steps are where evidence exists for this substance.

  1. Living longer, or avoiding a major event Evidence recorded. Death, a heart attack, a stroke, a hospital stay.2 registered measures of this kind. No reviewed result.
  2. What a body can do day to day No evidence recorded. Walking, dressing, breathing, recovering.No registered study measures this.
  3. Measured performance No evidence recorded. How much was lifted, how far was run, how fast.No registered study measures this.
  4. Symptoms and quality of life Evidence recorded. Pain, tiredness, mood, sleep, as the person rated it.5 registered measures of this kind.
  5. A number that stands in for health No evidence recorded. Cholesterol, blood sugar, bone density. A stand-in, not the thing itself.No registered study measures this.
  6. A step measured inside a person Evidence recorded. Something measured in human tissue or human cells.A human record sits on the stored organism ladder.
  7. Animals Evidence recorded. Mice, rats, dogs. Useful for ideas, not proof about people.Stored records in Mouse. A result in animals says what to test next. It does not say what happens in people.
  8. Cells in a dish No evidence recorded. Cells or chemistry on a bench, far from a whole body.No cell or bench record is stored.
  9. A guess from software No evidence recorded. Nobody measured it. RNAWiki never publishes one as a finding.RNAWiki stores no prediction for this record. Software can suggest a link. RNAWiki does not publish one as a finding.

Higher on these steps means closer to something a person would feel. It does not mean better done.

What it changes in the bodyRead from sources, not yet reviewed

The path through the body

From what a person takes to what changes. A solid line is a step measured in people. A dashed line is a step nobody has measured that way.

Where a source records it acting

  • Brain: Antidepressant action thought to be related to enhancement of serotonergic activity in the central nervous system; both a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a 5HT2 receptor antagonist

    US prescribing information · 007f38e0-653b-43e4-a1c1-b59997b2762a · read 2026-08-27

  1. Start

    Trazodone

    What a person takes: Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night.

    The measurement behind this step

    Metabolised to meta-chlorophenylpiperazine, an active metabolite with serotonin receptor agonist activity of its own. The drug has no stereocentres and no complex formulation requirements, which is part of why it is among the cheapest prescription medicines in the United States.

  2. Getting in

    A tablet, usually taken at night

    Most prescriptions are for a low dose at bedtime, well below the antidepressant range, for sleep rather than mood.

    Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

    The measurement behind this step

    The licensed indication is major depressive disorder in adults. The dominant dispensed pattern is low-dose use: under 150 mg/day accounted for the trazodone dispensing tracked in the 2020 JAMA analysis, which rose from 8.68% to 14.46% of commercially insured adults with an insomnia diagnosis between 2011 and 2018.

  3. Reaching the cell

    Broken down into a second active compound

    The liver splits off a fragment that is itself pharmacologically active at serotonin receptors — so the person is carrying two drugs, not one.

    Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

    The measurement behind this step

    Meta-chlorophenylpiperazine is trazodone’s major active metabolite and a serotonin receptor agonist in its own right. It is also a synthesis precursor, which is why its residual level is a release specification for the finished product as well as a pharmacological fact about the patient.

  4. What it acts on

    The serotonin pump is blocked — weakly

    This is the action the label names the drug after. On the label’s own numbers it is the weakest thing the molecule does.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    Serotonin reuptake inhibition at Ki 367 nM. For comparison, on the same page: 5-HT2A at 35.6 nM, 5-HT2B at 78.4 nM, 5-HT1A partial agonism at 118 nM, alpha-1A at 153 nM, alpha-2C at 155 nM and 5-HT2C at 224 nM. Every one of those six is a tighter interaction than the transporter the class descriptor refers to.

  5. The change it makes

    The 5-HT2A receptor is blocked — strongly

    This is the action the drug is actually used for. Blocking this serotonin receptor is closely associated with deeper, more consolidated sleep.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    Antagonism at 5-HT2A with Ki 35.6 nM, about ten times tighter than transporter inhibition. Section 12.1 concedes that the net result of simultaneously enhancing serotonin availability and blocking its receptor, and that combination’s role in the antidepressant effect, is unknown.

  6. What that does for a person

    And so are the receptors that hold blood vessels tight

    Alpha-1 blockade relaxes blood vessels. That is why standing up can cause dizziness or fainting, and it is the mechanism behind the priapism warning.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    Alpha-1A antagonism at Ki 153 nM. Section 12.2 states that trazodone antagonises alpha-1 adrenergic receptors, "a property which may be associated with postural hypotension". Section 5.6 records painful prolonged erections and priapism requiring immediate medical attention.

  7. What that does for a person

    What has never been measured

    The use that accounts for most of the prescriptions has never been through a regulator, and the guideline that did look at it advised against.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    There is no insomnia indication for trazodone and no registration programme in that condition. The 2017 AASM guideline suggests clinicians not use it for sleep onset or sleep maintenance insomnia. For the licensed indication, the 2018 network meta-analysis placed it among the four least efficacious and seven least tolerable of 21 antidepressants.

No suggested links are held for this record, so nothing is hidden from this path.

What we know
The record describes 6 steps from taking it to an effect in a person.
How we know it
Each step names the study behind it in the technical detail beside it.
What this does not prove
A change inside the body is a reason to look. It is not a result in a person.
Why it matters
A reader can see exactly where the chain stops being measured in people.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim binds any of these steps to a named population.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Felt, measured, or meaningful

Three different things that get called the same word. Registered studies measured all three, and mixing them is how a blood test becomes a health claim.

Felt

Things a person could notice without a test.

  • hamilton depression scale continuous
  • swiss spinal stenosis questionnaire
  • hamilton depression rating scale
  • insomnia severity index
  • insomnia symptom severity

Measured

Things only a test, a scale or a device shows.

No registered study measured anything of this kind.

Meaningful

Things that change how a life goes, not only a number.

  • who met remission as measured by the insomnia severity index
  • survival

A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. A number moving is not the same as a life going better. The two are shown apart here.

Felt, but not shown to help. A person notices a change. No study showed it leads anywhere good.

Measured, but not felt. A number moves. The person notices nothing. Both can be true.

Measured, but not shown to matter. A number moves in the good direction. Nobody showed that lives went better.

Matters, but takes years. The result that counts may take longer than anyone would keep watching.

Names that fit none of the three (11)
  • bioequivalence based on cmax
  • bioequivalence based on auc
  • nighttime total sleep time
  • apnea hypopnea index
  • assessment of frequency and severity of adverse events
  • co2 reserve
  • area under curve
  • nocturnal oxygen saturation
  • decline of als frs over 18months
  • clinical dementia rating
  • promis sleep disturbance t

These are harms, study-process measures, or names the rules did not recognise. They are shown rather than dropped.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Were people like you studied?

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it, and where the result stops carrying.

Who was studied

People similar to this profile were included.

  • Adults with major depressive disorder, per the licence. In practice, adults with insomnia, at 25 to 100 mg — a use the American Academy of Sleep Medicine specifically recommends against, and whose dispensing rose anyway.

Who is missing from the studies

  • Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

What the label states about particular groups

  • On pediatric, the label states: “Safety and effectiveness in the pediatric population have not been established.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

  • On older people, the label states: “Reported clinical literature and experience with trazodone has not identified differences in responses between elderly and younger patients.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

  • On people who are pregnant, the label states: “Pregnancy Exposure Registry There is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

  • On people who are breastfeeding, the label states: “Risk Summary Data from published literature report the transfer of trazodone into human milk.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

  • On people with reduced liver function, the label states: “Trazodone has not been studied in patients with hepatic impairment.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

  • On people with reduced kidney function, the label states: “Trazodone has not been studied in patients with renal impairment.”

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-30

Where the result stopped carrying

  • The dominant clinical use of the drug has never been assessed by a regulator and was recommended against by the relevant specialty guideline
  • It sits in both the least-efficacious and the highest-dropout group of the largest antidepressant comparison ever run
  • Its class descriptor on the label is contradicted by the binding constants two sections later
  • Priapism, a potentially permanent harm, is carried by a drug most often prescribed casually and off-label
  • This is a scope explorer, not a diagnosis engine.
  • It shows who was studied so you can see whether people similar to you were included.

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Why it might seem to do nothing

A real effect and a noticed effect are different things. These are the recorded reasons the two come apart.

It was studied for a different goal

The studies measured something else entirely.

On this record: Some registered studies measured things that match no goal on this page.

It was studied in different people

The people in the studies were not much like the reader.

On this record: Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

The evidence may simply be wrong

Small early studies often do not hold up.

On this record: RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Other reasons RNAWiki checked and found nothing for (10)
A different form was studied
The studied form is not the form on the shelf. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
There was nothing to correct
Where a level is already normal, topping it up may change nothing. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else had to happen too
In the studies it was paired with training, a diet or another treatment. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The change is too small to feel
A real change can still sit below what a person notices. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Day-to-day swing hides it
Sleep, food, stress and time of day move most numbers more than this would. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Not enough time yet
The studies ran longer than the person has waited. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
It was not taken as studied
Missed days change the result, and studies count them. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else changed at the same time
Two changes at once cannot be told apart afterwards. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The product may not be what it says
Contents of a sold product are not always what the label states. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
No recorded reason
RNAWiki has nothing stored that would explain it. Nothing in this record points to this reason.

None of these is a reason to take more. Taking more is not a step this page ever suggests.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What taking it involves

The recorded facts about getting hold of it and using it. Nothing here is a suggestion about what you should do.

How it is supplied

Prescription only

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

Read from the recorded approval status.

No source is stored against this line.

Form and route

Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form and route recorded on this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

Who oversees it

Professional supervision is normally required. A regulator classifies this substance in a way that restricts how it is supplied.

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

Suppression classes recorded: S6.

No source is stored against this line.

What is in the pack

Metabolised to meta-chlorophenylpiperazine, an active metabolite with serotonin receptor agonist activity of its own. The drug has no stereocentres and no complex formulation requirements, which is part of why it is among the cheapest prescription medicines in the United States.

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

Recorded notes on how this is sold and what that means for what is in the pack.

No source is stored against this line.

Where it is registered

Regulatory records are listed in the technical disclosure at the foot of this page.

Counted from records

Where this came from

A count of rows RNAWiki holds. It describes our records, not your body.

Register entries are stored per jurisdiction and shown with their dates.

No source is stored against this line.

Why people stop

Not recorded.

Nothing recorded

Where this came from

RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.

No record of why people stopped taking it is stored for this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What can go wrong

Sorted by where each line came from. A regulator's label and a report somebody sent in are not the same kind of fact.

Worth asking a clinician aboutWritten into the record from the studies named on this page

Boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviours in paediatric and young adult patients. QT prolongation, with use to be avoided alongside other QT-prolonging drugs and in patients with risk factors. Orthostatic hypotension and syncope, attributed on the label to alpha-1 adrenergic antagonism. Increased bleeding risk with aspirin, NSAIDs, other antiplatelets and anticoagulants. Priapism and painful prolonged erections, requiring immediate medical attention. Activation of mania or hypomania. Potential for cognitive and motor impairment, with caution advised when operating machinery. Angle-closure glaucoma in untreated anatomically narrow angles.

Nobody counted how many people took this and were fine, so this cannot be turned into a rate.

Where this came from

Reports sent to a regulator

  • These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction.
  • Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing.
  • The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete.
  • News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report.
  • A count is not a rate and not a risk.

Trazodone appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 10 most-reported reaction terms, 818 reaction mentions were counted. One report can name several reactions.

The recorded terms (10)
  • drug interaction — 111 reaction mentions
  • priapism — 103 reaction mentions
  • serotonin syndrome — 97 reaction mentions
  • suicide attempt — 97 reaction mentions
  • drug hypersensitivity — 86 reaction mentions
  • somnolence — 83 reaction mentions
  • insomnia — 79 reaction mentions
  • confusional state — 64 reaction mentions
  • electrocardiogram qt prolonged — 50 reaction mentions
  • sopor — 48 reaction mentions
  • open-targets-adr · recorded 2026-06-24 · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Over a long time. No completed tested study window is recorded, so long-term effects are not established by the registry record.

Groups the studies covered thinly. Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Does the exact form matter?

Evidence belongs to the exact thing that was tested. A different salt, a different mixture or a different preparation is a different question.

The form that was studied

Oral tablet at 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg. In practice, most dispensed prescriptions are for doses below 150 mg per day, taken at night

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form used in the studies cited on this page.

No source is stored against this line.

What is sold

The drug has no stereocentres and no complex formulation requirements, which is part of why it is among the cheapest prescription medicines in the United States.

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

Recorded notes on which forms are sold and how they compare.

No source is stored against this line.

What is recorded as being sold

  • 179 products list this as an active ingredient in the United States drug directory. 179 of them contain it and nothing else.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-525 · read 2026-08-29

  • They are sold as granule, powder, solution, tablet and tablet, film coated, taken oral.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-525 · read 2026-08-29

  • The regulator's established pharmacologic class for it is serotonin reuptake inhibitor [epc].

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-525 · read 2026-08-29

  • 103 published labels name it as an active ingredient. 103 of them describe this substance alone, which is where its own label text on this page comes from.

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-29

  • Those labels are classed as human prescription drug.

    US prescribing information · 9265f4f6-df24-4495-9dbf-e3fcfa4c864d · read 2026-08-29

  • Trazodone Hydrochloride is scored tablets at Scored tablets of 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg and 300 mg, recorded as prescription product; fda label in effect 2026-07-14 in the United States.

    US prescribing information · 007f38e0-653b-43e4-a1c1-b59997b2762a · read 2026-08-27

  • Recorded price in US: 0.03124–0.52918 USD per one unit as the pricing file counts it — a tablet, capsule, patch or single item, across 79 priced products whose strengths and pack forms differ, as of 2026-08-26, paid by retail pharmacies buying the product, as surveyed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It is not a list price, an insurance price, or what anyone pays at a counter..

    Recorded source · 2026-08-26 · read 2026-08-28

Evidence carries across two names for one substance. It does not carry across a salt, a mirror form or a mixture.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What you could measure

This one is decided with a clinician, so this section holds questions to ask rather than a plan to run.

Self-experiment planning is not offered for a prescription or clinician-supervised medicine. The questions below are for a clinician or pharmacist.

Questions worth asking

  • Which of the trials of Trazodone studied people like me?
  • What was measured, and for how long?
  • Was the result a laboratory value or a health outcome?
  • What would we watch for, and when would we stop?

Tracking can show whether something changed for you. It cannot show what caused it.

RNAWiki records evidence. It does not say whether this substance is right for you.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Claims that go past the evidence

Things said about this substance that sound reasonable, and the exact step that is missing between the evidence and the claim.

Goes past the evidence

That trazodone is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, as its own indications section states and its own binding table contradicts

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That enhancing serotonergic activity explains the antidepressant effect, which section 12.1 calls unknown in net result

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That its use as a hypnotic is supported by evidence, when the sleep-medicine guideline that assessed it recommended against

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That low dose means low risk — the priapism, orthostatic and QT warnings are not dose-qualified on the label

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What nobody knows yet

Open questions, each with why it is open and what would close it.

Missing populations

Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing long-term data

No completed tested study window is recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

No reviewed conclusion

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing interaction studies

No interaction was found in the registers checked. Not finding one is not the same as showing there is none.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Formulation uncertainty

Several salts, forms or products of Trazodone are recorded. Results from one form may not transfer to another.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Mechanism not reviewed

No reviewed mechanism story exists for this substance.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Check any of this yourself

Every line above traced back to the study it came from. This is the technical layer, and the vocabulary changes here.

Every line above can be traced to the study named beside it. Follow the link and read it.

The label calls it an SSRI; the same label’s numbers say otherwise
In plain words
Section 1 of the prescribing information describes trazodone as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Section 12.2 reports that it binds the 5-HT2A receptor about ten times more tightly than it binds the serotonin transporter, and binds alpha-1 receptors more tightly too.
What was measured
Binding affinities at the serotonin transporter and at six receptors, as printed in the label’s own pharmacodynamics section
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Section 1 reads: "Trazodone is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder." Section 12.1 repeats it — "Trazodone is both a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and a 5HT2 receptor antagonist" — and then concedes that "the net result of this action on serotonergic transmission and its role in trazodone’s antidepressant effect is unknown." Section 12.2 gives the numbers: serotonin reuptake inhibition at Ki 367 nM, 5-HT2A antagonism at Ki 35.6 nM, 5-HT2B at 78.4 nM, 5-HT2C at 224 nM, alpha-1A at 153 nM, alpha-2C at 155 nM, and 5-HT1A partial agonism at 118 nM. The transporter is the weakest of the seven listed affinities by an order of magnitude against the strongest. The standard pharmacological description of this compound is a serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor, not a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and the word "selective" is doing work the same document’s binding table does not support. This matters clinically rather than semantically: a reader who takes the class descriptor at face value will expect an SSRI side-effect profile and will not expect sedation, postural hypotension or priapism, all of which come from the receptor antagonism the descriptor omits.
Source
Trazodone hydrochloride United States prescribing information, sections 1, 12.1 and 12.2
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
contested
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Its main use is one a guideline advises against, and it kept growing
In plain words
Most trazodone is prescribed at low doses to help people sleep. In 2017 the American Academy of Sleep Medicine specifically suggested clinicians not use it for that. Dispensing among insured adults with insomnia went from 8.68% in 2011 to 14.46% in 2018 anyway.
What was measured
Proportion of commercially insured adults with insomnia dispensed low-dose trazodone, 2011 against 2018, either side of a guideline recommending against it
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
This entry records a failure.
From the source
The 2017 AASM clinical practice guideline for the pharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia in adults states: "We suggest that clinicians not use trazodone as a treatment for sleep onset or sleep maintenance insomnia (versus no treatment) in adults. (WEAK)." A 2020 JAMA analysis of the IBM MarketScan database found low-dose trazodone (under 150 mg/day) dispensed to 1.25% of commercially insured adults in 2011 and 1.82% in 2018, rising 0.07 percentage points a year; among adults with an insomnia diagnosis the figures were 8.68% and 14.46%, rising 0.69 points a year. Zolpidem moved the other way over the same period, from 4.56% to 2.50% of all adults and 33.65% to 22.60% of those with insomnia. The authors observed that low-dose trazodone dispensing increased through the period before and to nearly two years after the guideline advised against it. Trazodone has no insomnia indication, no regulator has assessed it for that use, and it is the most commonly dispensed drug for it in this data set after zolpidem.
Source
Sateia MJ, Buysse DJ, Krystal AD, Neubauer DN, Heald JL. J Clin Sleep Med 2017;13:307-349; Wong J, Murray Horwitz M, Bertisch SM, Herzig SJ, Buysse DJ, Toh S. JAMA 2020;324:2211-2213
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
caution
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Bottom group on efficacy and bottom group on tolerability, in the same analysis
In plain words
In the network meta-analysis of 21 antidepressants across 522 trials and 116,477 patients, trazodone was among the four least effective when drugs were compared directly, and among the seven people were most likely to stop taking.
What was measured
Placement of trazodone on both the efficacy and acceptability rankings of 21 antidepressants in head-to-head comparison
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
In the head-to-head studies of the 2018 network meta-analysis, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, reboxetine and trazodone were the least efficacious drugs, with odds ratios ranging from 0.51 to 0.84. On acceptability, amitriptyline, clomipramine, duloxetine, fluvoxamine, reboxetine, trazodone and venlafaxine had the highest dropout rates, 1.30 to 2.32. Trazodone appears in both lists — one of only two drugs, with fluvoxamine and reboxetine, to do so. Against placebo it was still more effective than nothing, as all 21 were, with the range across the whole set running from 2.13 for amitriptyline down to 1.37 for reboxetine. Certainty of evidence across the analysis was rated moderate to very low. For the licensed indication, this is the clearest available comparative statement about the drug, and it is not favourable.
Source
Cipriani A, Furukawa TA, Salanti G, et al. Lancet 2018;391:1357-1366
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Priapism — a urological emergency from a five-cent sleeping tablet
In plain words
The label records painful, prolonged erections and priapism, and directs immediate medical attention. Untreated, priapism can cause permanent damage. It comes from the same receptor blockade that lowers standing blood pressure.
What was measured
Alpha-1A binding affinity relative to serotonin transporter affinity, and the harms the label attributes to it
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
This entry records a failure.
From the source
Section 5.6 records cases of painful and prolonged penile erections and priapism and directs that immediate medical attention be sought if signs or symptoms are observed. The pharmacological basis is alpha-1 adrenergic antagonism, for which section 12.2 gives an alpha-1A Ki of 153 nM — tighter than the drug’s own serotonin transporter affinity of 367 nM — and which section 12.2 also names as the likely cause of postural hypotension. The clinical significance sits in the mismatch between the seriousness of the harm and the casualness of the prescription: this is a drug most often given at low dose, for sleep, off-label, sometimes without the person being told it is an antidepressant at all. The label carries no numerical incidence, so none is stated here.
Source
Trazodone hydrochloride United States prescribing information, sections 5.6 and 12.2
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
caution
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
A night-time drug that drops your blood pressure when you stand
In plain words
Trazodone is taken at bedtime and warns of orthostatic hypotension and fainting. Those two facts meet in the middle of the night, in the people most likely to fall.
What was measured
Labelled orthostatic, cognitive-motor and QT cautions, and the receptor pharmacology the label assigns them to
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Section 5.4 warns of orthostatic hypotension and syncope and directs that patients be warned of the risk and symptoms. Section 12.2 attributes the effect directly: "Trazodone antagonizes alpha 1-adrenergic receptors, a property which may be associated with postural hypotension." Section 5.9 separately warns of potential cognitive and motor impairment and advises caution when operating machinery. Section 5.3 directs avoiding use with other QT-prolonging drugs and in patients with risk factors for prolonged QT. None of these is unusual in isolation; the combination is unusual in a drug taken at night, largely by older people, largely for an indication no regulator has reviewed, and largely because it costs five cents.
Source
Trazodone hydrochloride United States prescribing information, sections 5.3, 5.4, 5.9 and 12.2
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
caution
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
The label says the net effect on serotonin, and its role, are unknown
In plain words
Trazodone raises serotonin at the transporter and blocks it at the receptor. The prescribing information states outright that the net result of doing both, and its role in the antidepressant effect, is unknown.
What was measured
That enhancing serotonergic activity is what makes trazodone an antidepressant — an account the label offers as a thought and then immediately qualifies as unknown in net effect
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Section 12.1 reads in full: "The mechanism of trazodone’s antidepressant action is not fully understood, but is thought to be related to its enhancement of serotonergic activity in the CNS. Trazodone is both a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and a 5HT2 receptor antagonist and the net result of this action on serotonergic transmission and its role in trazodone’s antidepressant effect is unknown." That is an unusually explicit admission: the drug does two opposing things to the same neurotransmitter system and the label does not know which wins. The 2022 umbrella review of the serotonin theory found no consistent evidence that depression involves lowered serotonin at all, which removes the framework in which "enhancement of serotonergic activity" would be an explanation rather than a description. What is left is a compound with a well-characterised receptor profile, a documented sedative effect, and an unexplained relationship between the two.
Source
Trazodone hydrochloride United States prescribing information, section 12.1; Moncrieff J et al., Mol Psychiatry 2023;28:3243-3256
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
contested
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim

How many documents were read

  • 104 documents were read for this substance.

    RNAWiki source record

  • 103 of them state the same proteinBinding, and they agree.

    RNAWiki source record

Where else this substance is registered

FDA substance identifier (UNII)
6E8ZO8LRNM
CAS registry number
19794-93-5
PubChem compound
5533
RxNorm concept
10737

Checks this page had to pass

  • Passed

    Identity resolved

    no open identity hold

  • Passed

    No unresolved merge across substance families

    no quarantine open

  • Passed

    Every public sentence names a source

    The opening statement carries the origin: Reviewed first-read answer.

  • Not passed

    Trial roles classified for highlighted evidence

    No registered study is classified as testing this substance.

  • Passed

    No internal keys in reader text

    enforced by the copy-contract test over the rendered page

  • Passed

    Safety mode resolved

    Suppression classes recorded: S6.

  • Passed

    Canonical metadata present

    slug and display name present

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

How this medicine reached us

Kept near the foot of the page. A historical event moves up only when it changes something about this substance today.

What the approval register records

  • 36 approved applications cover products containing this substance. The earliest was NDA018207, approved 19811224 to PRAGMA.

    Drugs@FDA application register · NDA018207 · read 2026-08-29

  • Marketing status on the register: discontinued and prescription.

    Drugs@FDA application register · NDA018207 · read 2026-08-29

  • The earliest marketing start date recorded for a listed product is 19780614.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-525 · read 2026-08-29

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What to learn next

Ordered by what would most change how you read this page, starting with what is easiest to misunderstand.

This order is fixed in code and does not count clicks or time on the page.

What is not here

4 questions this page could not answer

These sections were prepared and left out because there was nothing to put in them. They are listed rather than hidden, so the gaps in this record are visible.

  • How long anything takes — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • What it may clash with — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • Other ways to the same goal — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • What changed on this page — found nothing in the sources checked.

The record as stored

The full record, for auditing

Everything above is built from what is below. This layer keeps the technical vocabulary, record identifiers and every stored row, so a reader who wants to check the page can.

The older medicine-wide conclusion held in this record

Written for a clinical reader, and about the medicine as a whole rather than about one indication, population and set of trials. RNAWiki does not treat it as a programme conclusion and no reviewer has signed it off in that form. It is here word for word because it is what the record holds.

An antidepressant whose United States label describes it as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor while reporting in its own pharmacology section a serotonin transporter Ki of 367 nM against a 5-HT2A receptor Ki of 35.6 nM, which the 2018 network meta-analysis placed among both the least efficacious and the least tolerable of 21 antidepressants, and whose dominant use — insomnia — is one the American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises against and whose dispensing rose from 8.68% to 14.46% of insured adults with insomnia between 2011 and 2018 regardless.

Recorded evidence blocks (10)

What did Trazodone's largest trial (31459 people) and its longest (17 years) measure?


31459 people in Trazodone's largest registered study, 17 years in its longest registered window, measuring Number of participants with a composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization or all-cause emergency department visit, or all-cause mortality. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

12 phase1, 12 phase4, 11 phase2, 11 phase3, 8 na, 4 na or unstated, 3 early phase1; NCT07381101; 2025-03-31; no ageing endpoint recorded. Last human test completed 2026, NCT03668041.

Interpretation These counts include studies where Trazodone was a comparison treatment, a background treatment or an exposure in an observational study, and the longest window may be a planned end date. Trial roles have not yet been classified for this record.

Show the evidence
  • phase1
    12
  • phase4
    12
  • phase2
    11
  • phase3
    11
  • na
    8
  • na or unstated
    4
2 more recorded rows
  • early phase1
    3
  • Last recorded human test NCT03668041
    2026-03-30

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

From mouse to human: where has Trazodone shown lifespan?


mouse: mechanism-only and human: lifespan (57): the rungs where Trazodone has a recorded finding. Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov · organism ladder · 2026-09-01

Interpretation Number of participants with a composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization or all-cause emergency department visit, or all-cause mortality. — the recorded outcome words.

Yeast C. elegans Drosophila Mouse mechanism-onlyRat Dog Non-human primate Human lifespan
Show the evidence
  • mouse
    mechanism-only
  • human NCT07381101
    lifespan; Number of participants with a composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization or all-cause emergency department visit, or all-cause mortality.; 57

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

8 of Trazodone's trials stopped: accrual/recruitment, other?


accrual/recruitment (2) and other (6): Trazodone's stop wording, clustered. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

"it became clear that recruitment was infeasible"; 8 of 57 registered studies

Show the evidence

Trial

  • NCT01662297
    terminated; "it became clear that recruitment was infeasible"
  • NCT02118688
    withdrawn; "Lack of enrollment"
  • NCT02699138
    withdrawn; "Research fellow left institution"
  • NCT02945644
    suspended; "COVID19 pandemic"
  • NCT03522207
    terminated; "shortstaff at sleep lab"
  • NCT05085808
    withdrawn; "PI left institution. Study never started."
2 further recorded trials
  • NCT05299398
    withdrawn; "This study was pivoted to be a randomized control trial of trazodone versus quetiapine, under a new NTC identification number (study protocol number 125638)."
  • NCT05307003
    terminated; "PI left institution. No one resumed the project."

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Human studies of Trazodone used Trazodone 20 mg — over how long?


studies of Trazodone used the recorded amount. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

12 recorded entries; human; also "Trazodone 20 mg", "Trazodone 10 mg", "Trazodone 60 mg"

Show the evidence

human

  • NCT03202979
    Trazodone 20 mg
  • NCT03202979
    Trazodone 10 mg
  • NCT03516630
    Trazodone 60 mg
  • NCT03516630
    Trazodone 140 mg
  • NCT04295941
    TraZODone Hydrochloride 300 MG
  • NCT06773767
    150 mg trazodone hydrochloride
6 more recorded rows
  • human NCT06773767
    300 mg trazodone hydrochloride
  • human NCT06983080
    Trazodone 25 mg
  • human NCT07210112
    Trazodone 5mg
  • human NCT07210112
    Trazodone 30 mg
  • human NCT07542756
    Trazodone, 50 mg
  • human NCT07542756
    Trazodone, 100 mg

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Which of apnea hypopnea index, area under curve and assessment of frequency and severity of adverse events did Trazodone's trials measure?


apnea hypopnea index, area under curve and assessment of frequency and severity of adverse events lead 18 outcome terms across Trazodone's trials. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

Interpretation who met remission as measured by the insomnia severity index, apnea hypopnea index, hamilton depression scale continuous, swiss spinal stenosis questionnaire, hamilton depression rating scale and assessment of frequency and severity of adverse events follow.

Show the evidence
  • bioequivalence based on cmax
    1
  • bioequivalence based on auc
    1
  • nighttime total sleep time
    1
  • who met remission as measured by the insomnia severity index
    1
  • apnea hypopnea index
    1
  • hamilton depression scale continuous
    1
12 more recorded rows
  • swiss spinal stenosis questionnaire
    1
  • hamilton depression rating scale
    1
  • assessment of frequency and severity of adverse events
    1
  • co2 reserve
    1
  • area under curve
    1
  • insomnia severity index
    1
  • nocturnal oxygen saturation
    1
  • decline of als frs over 18months
    1
  • survival
    1
  • insomnia symptom severity
    1
  • clinical dementia rating
    1
  • promis sleep disturbance t
    1

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Which of Trazodone's 13 ongoing trials reports first?


13 registered trials of Trazodone are open; earliest completion 2025-12-30. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

Change in Tidal Volume; M/P ratio; latest 2032-01-01

Show the evidence

Trial

  • NCT02922894
    "Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Patients With Cervical Spinal Cord Injury"; n 100; "Change in Tidal Volume"; 2027-01-30
  • NCT03511118
    "Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Commonly Used Drugs in Lactating Women and Breastfed Infants"; n 1600; "M/P ratio"; 2028-07-31
  • NCT04302870
    "Motor Neurone Disease - Systematic Multi-Arm Adaptive Randomised Trial"; n 1150; "Change in decline of ALS-FRS(R) over 18months"; 2030-12
  • NCT05125146
    "Investigating the Effectiveness of E-CBTi Compared to Pharmaceutical Interventions in Treating Insomnia"; n 60; "Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) - Change in Symptoms (Quantitative)"; 2025-12-30
  • NCT05209035
    "Evaluation of Trazodone in OSA-MCI"; n 134; "sST2"; 2026-02-28
  • NCT05282550
    "Targeting Cognition in Early Alzheimer's Disease by Improving Sleep With Trazodone"; n 100; "Change in total sleep duration between the treatment arms"; 2028-06-30
7 further recorded trials
  • NCT05293600
    "Rescue Pharmacotherapy for OSA"; n 70; "Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI, Events/Hour of Sleep)"; 2026-10-30
  • NCT06281756
    "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trazodone Effects on Sleep and Blood Pressure in Insomnia"; n 600; "Remission of insomnia symptoms following Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)"; 2028-05-31
  • NCT06286189
    "Trazodone on OSA Endotypes"; n 18; "Effect of trazodone on arousal threshold (%eupnea)"; 2026-06-01
  • NCT06983080
    "Efficacy of Trazodone to Treat Insomnia in Older Adults (TRADITION Study)"; n 40; "Insomnia severity index"; 2027-12
  • NCT07136415
    "Comparing Digital Therapy, Trazodone, and Daridorexant for Menopause-Related Insomnia Symptoms"; n 1000; "PROMIS Sleep Disturbance T-score"; 2031-02
  • NCT07210112
    "Efficacy of Psilocybin and Trazodone Combination in Treatment-resistant Depression: a Randomized Controlled Proof-of-concept Study (PSILOTRAZ)"; n 112; "Change from Baseline in the mean score of Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at 1 month"; 2030-06-30
  • NCT07542756
    "A SMART Approach to Evaluating the Benefits of Common Prescription and OTC Medications for Insomnia"; n 1200; "Relative treatment response rates during acute (1-month) treatment phase"; 2032-01-01

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Which 14 trials of Trazodone posted no result?


Posted no result
14 of 14 completed trials
Registrations
NCT00659919, NCT00027053, NCT01468038, NCT01097980, NCT01142258 and NCT01524497, and 8 more
Completion dates
oldest 2003-12; newest 2024-08-07
Show the evidence

Trial

  • NCT00659919
    2003-12
  • NCT00027053
    2006-06
  • NCT01468038
    2008-12
  • NCT01097980
    2012-01
  • NCT01142258
    2012-08
  • NCT01524497
    2013-11
8 further recorded trials
  • NCT02086929
    2014-04
  • NCT03516630
    2017-05-01
  • NCT02785614
    2018-01-04
  • NCT03202979
    2018-08-09
  • NCT04162743
    2020-03-31
  • NCT04295941
    2021-11-16
  • NCT04082806
    2022-04-06
  • NCT06773767
    2024-08-07

At the median, Trazodone's trials enrolled 67 people — anything larger?


Median enrolment
67
Largest enrolment
31459
Registered trials counted
56

What do 818 spontaneous reports say about Trazodone — and not say?


These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction. Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing. The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete. News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report. A count is not a rate and not a risk.

Trazodone appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 10 most-reported reaction terms, 818 reaction mentions were counted: drug interaction 111; priapism 103; serotonin syndrome 97; suicide attempt 97. open-targets-adr · CHEMBL1200798 · 2026-06-24

Show the evidence
  • drug interaction
    111
  • priapism
    103
  • serotonin syndrome
    97
  • suicide attempt
    97
  • drug hypersensitivity
    86
  • somnolence
    83
4 more recorded rows
  • insomnia
    79
  • confusional state
    64
  • electrocardiogram qt prolonged
    50
  • sopor
    48

recorded 2026-06-24 · last checked 2026-09-04

Trazodone and CYP3A4: shared by which compounds?


CYP3A4 appear in Trazodone's recorded interaction sentences, 1 in all. openfda-label+europepmc · 2026-08-30

Interpretation pharmacokinetics

Show the evidence
  • CYP3A4 pharmacokinetics
    Metabolism In vitro studies in human liver microsomes show that trazodone is metabolized, via oxidative cleavage, to an active metabolite, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) by CYP3A4.

recorded 2026-08-30 · last checked 2026-09-04

Where it is registered
Identifiers, relations and other names

The exact record

ChEMBL id
CHEMBL1200798
PubChem CID
62935
CAS number
25332-39-2
RxCUI
82112
InChIKey
PHLBKPHSAVXXEF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Also called
TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE, trazodone contramid oad, Trazodona, Trittico, trz, 1,2,4-TRIAZOLO(4,3-A)PYRIDIN-3(2H)-ONE, 2-(3-(4-(3-CHLOROPHENYL)-1-PIPERAZINYL)PROPYL)-, MONOHYDROCHLORIDE, TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE [HSDB], TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE [JAN], TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE [MART.], TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE [MI], TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE [ORANGE BOOK]
Development code
AF-1161, NSC-292811, J10.767K
Trade name
Desyrel, Molipaxin, Molipaxin cr, Oleptro, Trialodine, Raldesy, Raldesy Tm, Desyrel / Oleptro (both discontinued as brands)
Salt form
Trazodone hcl, TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE ORAL
Sources (10)

Sources

4 more sources
  • open-targets-adr CHEMBL1200798 ·
  • openfda-label 3b2e61b0-414c-48ae-9e13-06470c302c67 ·
  • openfda-label+europepmc K1:YBK48BXK30 ·
  • national registers US, CA ·

ClinicalTrials.gov — US Government work · Europe PMC — metadata only, under the recorded legal gate · Open Targets 26.06 — CC0 · derived from this page's own recorded fields; no external licence · mixed register set; per-register licences in docs/specs/corpus-20k-sources.md · openFDA / DailyMed — US Government work

How these records are assembled · Which registers were checked

Index-quality checks
  • identity passed: no open identity hold
  • required summary fields resolved: 5 required field(s) not terminal: Why people use it, Best-supported result, Most important common problem, Biggest unanswered question, Human evidence
  • public claims reviewed: 0 reviewed claim(s); drafts are never rendered
  • source coverage passed: 10 source rows
  • no critical contamination: no quarantine open
  • canonical metadata passed: slug and display name present
  • no raw internal fields: enforced by the copy-contract test over the rendered page

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