This is one reason trazodone is sometimes preferred over tricyclic antidepressants for people at risk of overdose, although it is not risk-free: trazodone overdose can still cause dangerous drowsiness, low blood pressure, heart rhythm changes, and, when combined with other sedating substances, more severe outcomes.
Therapeutic index
Also called: Margin of safety
A measure of how large the gap is between an effective dose and a harmful dose. Trazodone is generally considered to have a wider — safer — margin than older tricyclic antidepressants, particularly in overdose.