title: Comparison of misoprostol and ranitidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer.
abstract: The efficacy of misoprostol (a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1) and ranitidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer was evaluated. Seventy-one patients with endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer were randomized in a double-blind manner in one of two groups that received two daily doses of 400 micrograms misoprostol or 150 mg ranitidine. Ulcer healing was assessed endoscopically after 4 weeks of treatment; in subjects who had not healed treatment was continued and endoscopy was repeated after another 4 weeks. The mean age, sex distribution and tobacco, alcohol and caffein consumption were similar in both groups. In the misoprostol-treated group, healing of the ulcer was observed in 74.8% of patients at 4 weeks and in 86.5% at 8 weeks; in the ranitidine group (n = 34), the healing rate was 91.2 and 100%, respectively. The differences between healing rates in the two groups were not statistically significant. In the misoprostol group (n = 37), 27% of patients experienced diarrhea; of these, two were withdrawn from the trial due to this side effect. These results, which are part of a multicenter international study, suggest that misoprostol at a daily dose of 800 micrograms is as effective as 300 mg/day ranitidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000527:Alprostadil / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016595:Misoprostol; D011899:Ranitidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D016595:Misoprostol; D011899:Ranitidine; D000527:Alprostadil