title: Unsuccessful cimetidine treatment of peptic ulcer: analysis of the factors involved.
abstract: Healing rates were examined retrospectively in 124 outpatients with peptic ulcer who had received cimetidine for at least four weeks. Treatment was unsuccessful in 73 patients. A statistical analysis of the factors involved in treatment failure revealed that in patients with duodenal ulcers 60.6% of the treatment successes versus 26.8% of the treatment failures were nonsmokers (P less than 0.001). There was a significantly higher (P less than 0.01) incidence of varioliform gastritis among treatment failures (19.2%) than treatment successes (3.9%). The following factors seemed to have no influence on rates of ulcer healing: age, sex, duration of ulcer disease, duration (beyond four weeks) of cimetidine therapy, family history of peptic ulcer, alcohol consumption, and coffee consumption. Although there was a higher gastric:duodenal ulcer ratio as well as higher consumption of anti-inflammatory drugs in treatment failures than in treatment successes, the difference was not statistically significant.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002927:Cimetidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002927:Cimetidine