Maintenance Therapy for Duodenal Ulcer—a Trial Comparing Cimetidine With a Prostaglandin Synthetase Promoter

Abstract

The effect of treatment on maintenance of remission was examined in 90 patients with healed duodenal ulcer shown by endoscopy. They were randomized to take treatment for 6 months with a prostaglandin synthetase promoter (263E) 500 mg three times daily or cimetidine 400 mg at night or an identical placebo. Sixty-five patients completed the trial or had a relapse of symptoms. The percentage of patients who had recurrent ulcers or duodenitis alone on endoscopy was 297, on 263E, 36," with cimetidine, and 50°J0 on placebo. These figures did not differ significantly. Trials of this design are now difficult to conduct because patients take an H, receptor antagonist soon after recurrence of symptoms, before their next clinic appointment. Maintenance treatment of recurrent peptic ulcer by Cirnetidine. Winship, D.H. (1978) Cimetidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer. Review and commentary. management of severe duodenal ulcer dyspesia. Ganrroenrerology, 74,397-340. Lancer, i, 403407. Gasr roenrerology , 7 4,402-406.

Presenting Characteristics of Patients with Duodenal Ulcer and Outcome of Medical Treatment in Controlled Clinical Trials Using Cimetidine and Diethylamine Persilate to Treat Ulcer Attack and Diethylamine Persilate and Placebo to Prevent Relapses

“…observa tion]. In man, a favorable effect on DAP in preventing ulcer recurrences has been re ported [2]. In the present study, DAP was not superior to placebo in preventing symp tomatic relapses of duodenal ulcer.…”

“…The hypothesis to be tested was that the presenting characteristics identified in the first trial were again associated with the outcome of treatment. In this study, cimeti dine was compared with diethylamine persilate (DAP), an allegedly cytoprotective agent [2],…”