To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: UEGW: Rabeprazole 20 mg Equivalent to Omeprazole 20 Mg in Healing Reflux Oesophagitis URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/23DCA6.htm Doctor's Guide November 5, 2003
By Adrian Burton MADRID, SPAIN -- November 5, 2003 -- Research from Italy suggests that rabeprazole 20 mg once daily is equivalent to omeprazole 20 mg once daily in effecting endoscopically-confirmed healing of reflux oesophagitis. Proton pump inhibitors have been shown to be very effective in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but "...there has been insufficient data on the comparison of [these types of drug] in terms of both acute and long term efficacy in the healing of oesophagitis," explained Fabio Pace, senior consultant in gastroenterology, Luigi Sacco University Hospital, Milan, Italy here at the 11th United European Gastroenterology Week. "So we decided to compare the standard omeprazole 20 mg once a day dose with rabeprazole… same dose, same posology." Dr. Sacco and colleagues enrolled 549 patients with a mean age of 47.42 years and endoscopically-confirmed oesophagitis (Savary-Miller grade I to III) plus day and night-time heartburn (minimum 3-4 days per week, moderate to strong intensity). The double blind study randomised patients to receive either 20 mg of rabeprazole or 20 mg of omeprazole once per day for 4 weeks. Those patients who did not respond were allowed another 4 weeks of treatment. At baseline, 70.31% of patients presented with oesophagitis for the first time while 26.9% were relapse patients. Their mean frequency of heartburn was 5.66 days per week, and their mean duration of symptoms was 53.99 months. On endoscopy, 69.22% of an original 560 patients enrolled had SM grade 1 oesophagitis, 24.23% had grade II, and 5.46% III (1.09% had grade 0 and were excluded). There was no significant difference in endoscopic healing rates at 8 weeks, with more than 92% of patients showing healing in both treatment arms. Neither was there any difference in healing rates at 4 weeks; 85.98% of patients showed full healing in the rabeprazole arm compared to 85.61% in the omeprazole group. Entry oesophagitis grade did not influence the results at 8 weeks. Symptom relief was also the same in both groups and no important adverse effects were noticed with either drug. "The message is both these drugs have a similar effect and you can use whichever you like. According to the cost, however, you might want to select the cheapest." [Study title: Comparable Efficacy Between Standard Doses of Rabeprazole And Omeprazole in the Short-Term Treatment of Reflux Oesophagitis. Abstract Mon-G-063] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.