title: Comparison between ranitidine 150 mg b.d. and ranitidine 300 mg nocte in the treatment of duodenal ulcer.
abstract: A multicenter trial was undertaken to assess the clinical usefulness of a single night-time dose of ranitidine in the short-term healing of duodenal ulcer. 384 patients with endoscopically diagnosed duodenal ulcer were randomly allocated to treatment with ranitidine either 150 mg b.d. or 300 mg as a single night-time dose for four weeks. The patients not healed after four weeks were again treated for four weeks. Of the 356 patients who completed the study, according to the protocol, 148 of 176 (84.1%) recovered on ranitidine 150 mg b.d. and 147 of 180 (81.7%) recovered on 300 mg nocte after four weeks. The healing rates increased to 95.8% and 94.8% respectively after four more weeks. Ulcer symptoms were rapidly reduced with no significant differences between the two treatment groups. There were no unwanted effects in either group and no significant abnormal biochemical or hematological changes. The results of this study support the hypothesis that ranitidine 300 mg given as one night-time dose and ranitidine 150 mg b.d. are equally effective. Ranitidine 300 mg once daily in a clinical practice may be advantageous to the patient.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D011899:Ranitidine / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D011899:Ranitidine