title: Comparison of the effects of omeprazole and famotidine in treatment of upper abdominal symptoms in patients with reflux esophagitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) with H(2) receptor antagonist (H(2)RA) in treatment of upper abdominal symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a multi-center, open study conducted at 102 hospitals in Japan. Patients with reflux esophagitis received famotidine 10 mg twice daily for 2 weeks, then omeprazole 10 mg once daily for 2 weeks. Thereafter, patients were switched to famotidine 10 mg twice daily for a third 2-weekperiod, provided those with a medical condition agreed to continue the study. Patients evaluated the treatment response to each gastrointestinal symptom using a predefined patient questionnaire and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  161 patients entered the study, of whom 8 were excluded from all analyses due to lack of participation following entry. Overall symptom improvement rate (n = 130) at week 4, after the 2-week omeprazole treatment, was 75.4% and this was significantly higher than that after the first 2-week famotidine treatment (41.5%) at week 2. In patients (n = 36) who completed 6 weeks of treatment, 2-week omeprazole treatment at week 4 showed a significantly higher overall symptom improvement rate compared with both the first 2-week and third 2-week famotidine treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Omeprazole was superior to famotidine for treatment of upper abdominal symptoms in patients with reflux esophagitis, which suggested that gastric acid might be a cause not only of reflux symptoms, but also of ulcer symptoms and dysmotility symptoms such as epigastric pain and feeling of fullness in reflux esophagitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, 701-0192, Japan. kusunoki@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kusunoki
authors.forename: Masayasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kusaka
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kido
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobori
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Yongmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kin
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tano
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oza
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsunobu
authors.forename: Naofumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Seisuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuyuno
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Kyoichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuki
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haruma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015738:Famotidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009853:Omeprazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors; D015738:Famotidine; D009853:Omeprazole