Eletriptan (40 mg or 80 mg) beats sumatriptan (100 mg) for acute migraine; pooled data.(Clinical Rounds)

CHICAGO -- Eletriptan, at both 40 mg and 80 mg dosages, provides superior relief of acute migraine than sumatriptan at 100 mg, according to a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society.

Data were pooled from three randomized, double-blind, comparison studies involving 3,398 patients who had migraine with or without aura based on International Headache Society diagnostic criteria, and had at least 1 attack every 6 weeks. They were randomized to receive eletriptan (Relpax) at 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg dosages, sumatriptan (Imitrex) 100 mg, or placebo, said Dr. Ninan Mathew, director of the Houston Headache Clinic, Houston.

One of the studies, which Dr. Mathew reported earlier this year at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, involved 2,072 patients who were randomized to receive eletriptan 40 mg, sumatriptan 100 mg, or placebo.

In all three studies included in the analysis, patients took the medication or placebo within 6 hours of onset of a moderate or severe migraine attack. Both eletriptan and sumatriptan were significantly superior to placebo, but eletriptan at either dosage was superior to sumatriptan on multiple outcome measures. (See table.)

Adverse events were comparable in the lower eletriptan dose and ...