NSAID-related ulcer treatments
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Omeprazole heals and prevents ulcers more effectively than ranitidine in patients who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs regularly, Neville Yeomans, MD, University of Melbourne, Australia, et al., report in a study in the March 12 New England Journal of Medicine. The study, involving 541 patients, compared 20 mg omeprazole per day or 150 mg ranitidine twice daily, the Rx dose of the H2 antagonist. In another study published in the same issue of NEJM, Christopher Hawkey, MD, University Hospital, Nottingham, U.K., et al., found that omeprazole and misoprostol were equally effective at treating ulcers, G.I. erosions and symptoms associated with NSAIDs. However, "maintenance therapy with omeprazole was associated with a lower rate of relapse than misoprostol," the researchers noted. The study's 935 subjects were given either 20 mg or 40 mg of omeprazole daily or 200 þg misoprostol four times daily. Astra Merck is considering an Rx-to-OTC switch for omeprazole (Prilosec)...