The efficacy and safety of oral sumatriptan as a 100-mg dispersible tablet was compared with oral Cafergot (2 mg ergotamine tartrate, 200 mg caffeine) in a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group trial. In the trial, 580 patients were treated from 47 investigating centres in nine European countries. Sumatriptan was significantly more effective than Cafergot at reducing the intensity of headache from severe or moderate to mild or none; 66% (145/220) of those treated with sumatriptan improved in this way by 2 h, compared with 48% (118/246) of those treated with Cafergot (p < 0.001). The onset of headache resolution was more rapid with sumatriptan, whereas recurrence of migraine headache within 48 h was lower with Cafergot. Sumatriptan was also significantly more effective at reducing the incidence of nausea (p < 0.001), vomiting (p < 0.01) and photophobia/phonophobia (p < 0.001) 2h after treatment, and fewer patients on sumatriptan (24%) than on Cafergot (44%, p < 0.001) required other medication after 2 h. The overall incidence of patients reporting adverse events was 45% after sumatriptan and 39% after Cafergot; the difference was not significant. The most commonly reported events in the sumatriptan-treated patients were malaise or fatigue and bad taste; these were generally mild and transient. Nausea and/or vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and dizziness or vertigo were reported by a greater proportion of Cafergot-treated patients. It is concluded that oral sumatriptan was well tolerated and is a more effective acute treatment for migraine than Cafergot.

Keywords:
Sumatriptan, Cafergot, Migraine, Serotonin agonist
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1991 S. Karger AG, Basel
1991
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.