RANITIDINE 300 MG TWICE-DAILY AND 150 MG 4-TIMES DAILY ARE EFFECTIVE IN HEALING EROSIVE ESOPHAGITIS

Background: Ranitidine 150 mg q.d.s. is the currently recommended dosa ge in the United States for the treatment of erosive oesophagitis. To determine whether a higher dose of ranitidine administered less freque ntly would also be effective in healing erosive oesophagitis, we compa red ranitidine 300 mg b.d. with ranitidine 150 mg q.d.s. in the treatm ent of erosive oesophagitis. Methods: This multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study conducted in the United States co mpared two dosages of ranitidine in 772 patients with endoscopically d iagnosed erosive oesophagitis. Patients were treated with ranitidine 3 00 mg b.d., ranitidine 150 mg q.d.s. or placebo for up to 12 weeks. En doscopies were repeated after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Ranitidine 300 mg b.d. was significantly more effective than placebo in healing erosive oesophagitis at weeks 8 and 12 (51 vs. 36% and 66 v s. 52%, respectively; P less than or equal to 0.004). Significantly hi gher healing rates were also achieved with ranitidine 150 mg q.d.s. co mpared with placebo at 4, 8 and 12 weeks (37 vs. 21%, 62 vs. 36% and 7 7 vs. 52%, respectively; P < 0.001). Healing rates were significantly higher with ranitidine 150 mg q.d.s. than with ranitidine 300 mg b.d. at all scheduled endoscopies (P less than or equal to 0.041). Conclusi ons: Ranitidine 300 mg b.d. is effective in healing erosive oesophagit is and may be appropriate as an alternative dosage regimen to ranitidi ne 150 mg q.d.s. in some patients with erosive oesophagitis.