A COMPARISON OF ACETOPHENETIDIN AND ACETAMINOPHEN. II. SUBJECTIVE EFFECTS IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS

¹ Departments of Medicine (Division of Clinical Pharmacology) and of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

The subjective effects of acetophenetidin, acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid were studied in 20 healthy male volunteers, aged 21 to 27 years. Acetophenetidin, acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid were given orally at a dosage level of 2 g/70 kg of b.wt. d-Amphetamine (15 mg/70 kg) and sodium pentobarbital (150 mg/70 kg) were included to determine the ability of the questionnaires employed to assess the expected spectrum of response. Evaluation was by two self-scoring questionnaires covering subjective and side effects respectively. The status of each subject was determined before drug and at 1, 2 and 3 hr thereafter. The subjective effects were grouped into three categories, mood, energy and mentation, with four separate statements being used to measure the magnitude and nature of the drug effect. The data were analyzed by the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test for correlated scores. Acetophenetidin depressed mood, energy and mentation. It tended to be scored as a drug with a striking effect, as one the subjects would not like to repeat and as a drug that would help them sleep. Acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid did not differ significantly from placebo. Acetophenetidin also produced more side effects than acetaminophen, although fewer than d-amphetamine and pentobarbital. The effects seen after acetophenetidin do not support the allegation that this drug increases efficiency by an amphetamine-like activity.