Which drug class best prevents idiopathic ulcer bleeding recurrence?
Trial compares a PPI with an H2-receptor antagonist for Helicobacter pylori-negative ulcers
Lansoprazole and famotidine have comparable effects in preventing recurrent idiopathic gastroduodenal ulcer bleeding, a two-year randomised clinical trial shows.
Helicobacter pylori-negative idiopathic ulcers, now recognised as a distinct disease entity from H. pylori-associated ulcers, carry a much higher risk of recurrent bleeding, Hong Kong researchers note.
Long-term PPI treatment is recommended for these patients, but the comparative efficacy of histamine H2-receptor antagonists has not previously been investigated, they write in Gut.
“This is a clinically relevant question since our previous study showed that many patients with H. pylori-negative idiopathic ulcer bleeding had histological features of achlorhydria,” the authors note.
