Patient preference for eletriptan 80 mg versus subcutaneous sumatriptan 6 mg: results of a crossover study in patients who have recently used subcutaneous sumatriptan

Abstract

This current randomized, open-label, crossover study evaluated preference for oral eletriptan 80 mg compared with subcutaneous sumatriptan 6 mg (suma-sc) amongst patients (n = 311) meeting IHS criteria for migraine who had recently used suma-sc, and found it well tolerated. Three attacks were treated on each study medication. Assessment of subjective preference was evaluated, after which patients freely chose which study medication they wished to use to treat each of three additional migraine attacks. A slight majority (50.6%) preferred or greatly preferred eletriptan, whilst 43% preferred suma-sc. When permitted to choose between eletriptan and suma-sc for subsequent treatment, 78% of patients who had preferred eletriptan took eletriptan during the extension phase for all three of their attacks, whilst only 37% of patients who preferred suma-sc took suma-sc for all of their extension-phase attacks (P < 0.05). Secondary efficacy measures showed comparable efficacy for each study medication, except for faster headache response and pain-free rates favor of suma-sc, and a significantly lower recurrence rate on eletriptan (25% vs. 40%; P < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that eletriptan is a strong alternative option for patients who have been prescribed suma-sc.

Eletriptan: a review and new perspectives

“…When able to choose which study medication they wished to use for the subsequent phase of the study, only 37% of patients with a stated preference for sumatriptan took sumatriptan for all of their extension-phase attacks. With regard to satisfaction with the outcome, eletriptan and sumatriptan showed a comparable efficacy and tolerability but, as expected, a faster headache response and superior pain-free rates for sumatriptan (subcutaneous) versus eletriptan [35]. Eletriptan 40 and 80 mg gave an effective response in patients who had previously discontinued treatment with sumatriptan owing to lack of efficacy or side effects [36].…”

Development, Reliability, and Validity of a New Preference and Satisfaction Questionnaire

“…Only four studies were identified that compared treatment with oral tablets to an injection. In two of the studies the oral and subcutaneous injection were given with the same dosing frequency for treatment of migraines [28,29]. A third study evaluated oral versus intravenous versus intramuscular dosing regimens for treatment of acute pain [30].…”

Eletriptan Treatment of Migraine in Patients Switching from Barbiturate-Containing Analgesics: Results from a Multiple-Attack Study

“…The results of the current study provide preliminary evidence that patients having an inadequate response to one type of symptomatic therapy, containing butalbital, can be effectively switched to eletriptan, resulting in high rates of headache response with low risk of recurrence. It should be noted that pain-free rates on eletriptan in previous open-label studies have ranged from 48%, in a recent Excedrin ® switch study (33), to 58% in a crossover comparison with subcutaneous sumatriptan (34). The lower pain-free rates (average = 37%) observed in the current study suggest that patients using Fiorinal or Fioricet represent a difficult to treat clinical subgroup.…”