Rabeprazole, 20 mg once daily or 10 mg twice daily, is equivalent to omeprazole, 20 mg once daily, in the healing of erosive gastrooesophageal refluxdisease

Background: Proton pump inhibitors are the most potent pharmacologic inhibi tors of gastric acid secretion currently available, and have proven effecti ve in the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The object of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of a new proton pump inhibitor, rabeprazole at two different dosages, with that of omepraz ole in the healing of erosive GERD. Methods: Rabeprazole 20 mg once daily ( QD) and 10 mg twice daily (BID) were compared with omeprazole 20 mg QD in a double-blind, multicentre: parallel group study involving 310 patients wit h erosive GERD. The primary efficacy endpoint was oesophageal mucosal heali ng determined by endoscopy. Secondary endpoints included reduction in sympt oms and improvements in quality-of-life scores. Results: The healing rates between both rabeprazole groups and the omeprazole group were equivalent in both the per-protocol and intent-to-treat populations. In the per-protocol population, rabeprazole 20 mg was noted to have a numerical trend toward m ore rapid daytime heartburn relief. However, by 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, no significant differences were found between groups for secondary endpoin ts, adverse events, or laboratory abnormalities including elevation of seru m gastrin levels. Conclusions: Rabeprazole 20 mg in two different dosing sc hedules is as effective as omeprazole 20 mg QD with regard to efficacy and tolerability in patients with erosive GERD.