Comparison of lansoprazole and famotidine for gastric ulcer by endoscopic ultrasonography: a preliminary trial.

Author(s): Okai T, Sawabu N, Songur Y, Motoo Y, Watanabe H

Affiliation(s): Department of Internal Medicine, Kanazawa University, Japan.

Publication date & source: 1995, J Clin Gastroenterol., 20 Suppl 2:S32-5.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

To compare the efficacy of lansoprazole and famotidine in the treatment of gastric ulcer, 24 patients with gastric ulcer were treated for 8 weeks. They were assessed by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), which provides cross-sectional images of the gastric wall as well as endoscopic images. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either lansoprazole 30 mg once daily (n = 12), or famotidine 20 mg twice daily (n = 12). The healing rate after 4 weeks of treatment was 80% in the lansoprazole group and 40% in the famotidine group. After 8 weeks of treatment, the respective healing rates were 100 and 72.7%. Healing to Sakita's S2 stage of scarring occurred significantly more often in the lansoprazole group than in the famotidine group after 4 weeks (50% vs. 0%; p < 0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the submucosal fibrous tissues detected by EUS were significantly less extensive in the lansoprazole-treated patients with deep ulcers (reaching the muscle layer or serosa) than in the famotidine-treated patients with deep ulcers (p < 0.01). These results suggest that lansoprazole may be more effective in ulcer healing than famotidine, particularly in patients with deep gastric ulcers.