Bionic sleep therapy combined with multimodal management for chronic insomnia with alcohol withdrawal-related symptoms: A case report.
Shuai-Yu Zhu, Qiu-Xia Xiao, Zheng-Yuan Duan et al.
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Case in brief
A 71-year-old man with more than 15 years of insomnia used 100 to 200 mL of Chinese baijiu nightly to sleep. Attempts to stop drinking brought worsening insomnia, restlessness, palpitations, sweating, and intense craving that eased after alcohol, leading to a diagnosis of chronic insomnia with recurrent mild withdrawal-related symptoms and high risk of complicated withdrawal. He received two monitored bionic sleep therapy sessions alongside cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, medication adjustment, and neuromodulation. Sleep and alcohol-use measures improved during the hospital course, with no further alcohol recorded from hospital day 3 to day 7. Follow-up after discharge was unavailable.
What made this case unusual
The case describes monitored intravenous propofol and dexmedetomidine to induce a brief sleep-like state as an adjunct during early alcohol withdrawal in a patient whose insomnia and withdrawal symptoms had reinforced alcohol use.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
When chronic insomnia coexists with alcohol use as a sleep aid, attempts to stop drinking may be accompanied by withdrawal-related insomnia and hyperarousal; assess withdrawal risk as well as the sleep disorder.
Why it matters
Sleep and alcohol-use improvements occurred during multimodal care, so this case cannot establish the specific contribution or durability of bionic sleep therapy; the authors call for prospective evaluation.