title: Patients on H2-receptor antagonists--are we investigating them?
abstract: A survey was made of patients receiving H2-receptor antagonists in a group practice serving 8600 patients. Two hundred and twelve patients (2%) who had received at least one prescription for H2 antagonists in a 12 month period were identified. When compared with the practice population, men and patients over 50 years old were more likely to be taking these drugs (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.001, respectively). One hundred and fifty-seven patients (74%) were investigated before commencing therapy; 114 (73%) of these patients were investigated via the hospital outpatient department, despite the general practitioners having full open access to barium meals. Only 23 (15%) of the patients investigated were found to have no active pathology. Twenty-nine (14%) of the 212 study patients had received one or more gastrointestinal investigations in the 18 months subsequent to starting H2-antagonist therapy. Twenty-five of these patients had also received an investigation before starting therapy. One hundred and eleven patients (52%) had had their H2 antagonist therapy initiated by their general practitioner.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Gilliland
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001466:Barium Sulfate; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009660:Northern Ireland; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011859:Radiography; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D001466:Barium Sulfate