OMEPRAZOLE VERSUS RANITIDINE IN THE MEDICAL TREATMENT OF ACUTE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING: ASSESSMENT BY EARLY REPEAT ENDOSCOPY

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of acid suppression in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding using early repeat endoscopy. Ninety‐two patients with the diagnosis of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (endoscopically verified), entered a single‐blind, randomised study comparing two treatment groups: omeprazole (40 mg orally daily) to ranitidine (50 mg intravenously four times daily). The lesions considered were gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers and erosive gastritis. All patients were candidates for medical treatment. The parameters assessed included: 1) stabilisation of the lesion by repeat endoscopy at 7.0 ± 3.0 days, 2) bleeding recurrence, 3) duration of stay in the intermediate medical care unit. For erosive gastritis only parameters 2 and 3 were considered. The study was limited to the hospitalisation period. Endoscopic stabilisation rate at 7.0 ± 3.0 days for duodenal lesions was higher in the omeprazole group (71% vs 37%, p=0.03), but there was no significant difference for gastric lesions (50% vs 54%, NS). The overall bleeding recurrence rate (0% vs 17%, p=0.013) and the duration of stay (3.9 vs 6.4 days, p<0.01) were significantly lower in the omeprazole group. Our study suggests that omeprazole is more effective than ranitidine in the pharmacological treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding.