A Pain Clinic Assessment of Syndol in Headache

Syndol, a formulation containing paracetamol, codeine phosphate, caffeine and doxylamine succinate, was evaluated in the Pain Clinic Unit of the Royal Marsden Hospital. In a single dose pilot study with eleven patients, 81% had speedy and effective relief from their headache for up to four hours. In a multiple-dose study over one week with twenty-four patients, seventeen patients ( 85%) had a 50% or greater relief from pain. No abnormal haematological or biochemical results were seen in this group of patients. Over 70% of these patients suffered from headaches in the afternoon and evening, with a peak incidence between 9 pm and midnight. This may indicate a separate sub-group of patients with tension headache who should do well on sedative-analgesic medication. The most common side-effect was drowsiness and sedation reported by fourteen patients ( 63%). The sedative-analgesic action of Syndol was well recognized by the patient and premedication on retiring to bed proved useful in those patients awoken during the night or waking in the morning with Tension Headache.