Oral sumatriptan in the acute treatment of migraine and migraine recurrence in general practice

We investigated the efficacy, safety and tolerability compared with placeboof a second dose of oral sumatriptan 100 mg in 1349 general practicepatients who had already treated a moderate or severe migraine headachewith 100 mg sumatriptan 4 h earlier. Headache was relieved by the firstsumatriptan dose in about 70% of patients, but the second dose did notproduce significantly more relief than placebo, either in nonresponders orin the group as a whole, nor did it reduce other symptoms (photophobia,nausea, vomiting, etc,) at 8 h, or influence the incidence of headacherecurrence. The drug was well-tolerated, and a further single dose waseffective in treating recurrence after initial relief. A single 100 mg doseof sumatriptan is an effective acute treatment for migraine. A second doseshould be reserved for treating headache recurrence.