A COMPARISON OF THE GASTRIC RETENTION OF A SUCRALFATE GEL AND A SUCRALFATE SUSPENSION

TWO Sucralfate formulations, a gel and a suspension, were radiolabelle d with Tc-99m and were administered to healthy subjects. Gastrointesti nal transit was monitored using a gamma camera. Both preparations coat ed the gastric mucosa, but there was a greater tendency for the gel to adhere to the walls of the stomach and oesophagus. Overall, the clear ance rates from the stomach were similar for both preparations; the me an half-times for gastric emptying being 1.2 h for the gel and 1.1 h f or the suspension. Small intestinal transit times for the gel and susp ension were 3.8 and 4.1 h, respectively. Both preparations could be de tected in the stomach for approximately 5 h after dosing. The gel prov ided the more extensive stomach coating, even though the dose was half that of the suspension.