Treatment of acute massive gastroduodenal haemorrhage with cimetidine in elderly patients
Darle, N.; Almskog, B.; Bergegårdh, S.; Falk, A.; Faxén, A.; Ivarsson, L.E.; Jivegård, L.; Karlström, L.
Annales Chirurgiae et Gynaecologiae 73(2): 64-68
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0355-9521 PMID: 6331783 Document Number: 230347
Patients (92) over the age of 60 with acute upper GI hemorrhage were included in a prospective randomized double-blind 3-center study of the effect of a 5-day treatment with cimetidine. Patients (20) had to be excluded because of different reasons. The remaining 72 patients bled from either erosive gastritis, gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer; 32 patients received cimetidine and 39 placebo. There was no difference in the number of transfusions, rebleedings or operative interventions. Mortality was 1/33 (3%) in the cimetidine group compared to 5/39 (13%) in the placebo group (NS). In the gastric ulcer group there was no mortality among 10 cimetidine patients compared to a mortality of 4 of 12 (33%) patients receiving placebo (P < 0.05). It is concluded with caution that cimetidine might be effective in hemorrhage from gastric ulcer in patients .gtoreq. 60 yr.