Omeprazole may be superior to famotidine in the management of iatrogenic ulcer after endoscopic mucosal resection: a prospective randomized controlled trial

Summary Background Acid suppressing agents are widely used to treat the iatrogenic ulcers following endoscopic mucosal resection for gastric neoplasms. However, the relative merits of proton pump inhibitor or histamine2-receptor antagonist for endoscopic mucosal resection-induced ulcers are not known. Aim To prospectively compare omeprazole and famotidine for the healing of endoscopic mucosal resection-induced ulcers and for bleeding control. Methods After endoscopic mucosal resection, patients were randomly assigned to omeprazole (20 mg/day) or to famotidine (40 mg/day) group for a 28-day treatment period. The ulcer sizes and stages, bleeding rates and ulcer-related symptoms were compared. Results A total of 100 patients were randomized equally to each group. Forty-one patients in each group were finally compared. The two groups were comparable in terms of baseline characteristics. Twenty-eight days after treatment, the two groups were not different with respect to ulcer stage (P = 0.137) or ulcer reduction ratio (P = 0.380). No difference was observed with respect to ulcer-related symptoms (P = 0.437) and no bleeding episode occurred in any of the 82 patients. In subgroup that underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection, fewer patients in the omeprazole group showed active ulcers than those in the famotidine group (P = 0.035). Conclusion Our results demonstrate that omeprazole may be superior to famotidine for iatrogenic ulcers following endoscopic mucosal resection, especially for large ulcers.