Therapy with omeprazole in patients with peptic ulcerations resistant to extended high-dose ranitidine treatment

94 patients with peptic ulcerations of duodenum, stomach, and esophagus, who did not respond to 3 or more months high-dose (450 or 600 mg) treatment with ranitidine, were treated orally with 40 mg omeprazole daily. After healing all patients were offered long-term maintenance therapy with the same dose for 5 years. In 75 patients the peptic ulcerations healed within 4 weeks, in 13 patients within 8 weeks, and in 3 patients only after an increase to 60 mg omeprazole daily. In 3 patients the ulcers did not heal. So far 83 patients have entered long-term maintenance therapy. 59 of these patients are on the drug between 1 and 4 years. During maintenance therapy with 40 mg omeprazole no relapses have occurred up to now as demonstrated by endoscopy and no drug-related adverse effects were observed. Routine laboratory tests remained without significant changes in all patients including 18 patients with concomitant liver cirrhosis. Serum gastrin levels were already elevated during the initial high-dose ranitidine treatment (106 ± 15.4 pg/ml). 4 weeks after the start of omeprazole treatment serum gastrin levels rose to 4 times normal levels (195 ± 28 pg/ml). Thereafter, no further increase in serum gastrin was observed even up to 4 years of continuous observation. It is therefore concluded that omeprazole is highly effective in healing ranitidine-resistant peptic ulcerations and that omeprazole maintenance therapy with 40 mg omeprazole is safe during the time observed and highly effective in the prevention of ulcer recurrence.