Loading...
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) causes many hospitalizations yearly in the U.S. Up to 20 percent of patients have recurrent or persistent bleeding, a rate unaffected by therapy with H2-receptor antagonists. Studies using omeprazole have produced varying results. These Hong Kong investigators conducted a randomized, double-blind study of 240 patients with acute UGIB after injection and thermal therapy for bleeding ulcers and visible vessels. Patients received intravenous omeprazole (80 mg bolus, followed by 8 mg/hr) or placebo for 3 days; all then received oral omeprazole therapy.
The 30-day recurrent bleeding rate was 6.7 percent in the omeprazole group, compared with 22.5 percent in the placebo group (P (less than) 0.001; hazard rati…