Double-blind study of glaucine in chronic cough.

Thirty-eight patients, affected by chronic cough and hospitalized in 14 different rooms, entered a double-blind cross-over trial aimed at evaluating efficacy and tolerance of single oral doses of glaucine (eo mg) versus single oral doses of codeine (30 mg) and placebo. Patients occupying the same room were administered on 3 consecutive nights, and an objective evaluation of efficacy was ensured by means of a tape recorded. The mean cough counts during the 8-h interval after drug administration were 269.3 after placebo, 241.8 after glaucine, and 201.9 after codeine (p less than 0.05). The antitussive effects of glaucine and codeine were practically superimposable up to the 6th h, when glaucine effect declined. Treatments were well tolerated by all the patients, they themselves were not able to detect any difference in cough suppression among the three treatments.