Relapse Rates after Initial Ulcer Healing with Sucralfate and Cimetidine

Abstract

The relapse rate after successful short-term therapy with sucralfate (Sc) or cimetidine (Cm) was studied in a group of 86 patients with recently healed duodenal or gastric ulcers. The patients were endoscoped on clinical relapse or, routinely, at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. Patients whose ulcers had healed with Cm relapsed earlier than did those whose ulcers had healed with Sc (p < 0.05 at 12 weeks), but the cumulative relapse rate by the end of 1 year was of the order of 70% in both treatment groups. The mean duration of remission in patients who developed a recurrence was significantly greater in patients treated initially with Sc than in those treated initially with Cm—7.3 and 4.6 months, respectively (p < 0.01).