[Maintenance therapy with antiulcer drugs: review of 71 cases].

OBJECTIVE

To find the characteristics of our patients being treated with anti-ulcer medication and to evaluate whether the prescriptions were correct.

DESIGN

A descriptive, crossover study.

SETTING

Perpetuo Socorro Health Centre in Huesca.

PATIENTS: 71 patients selected through their long-treatment booklets during october-november 1992.

MEASUREMENTS AND

RESULTS

Using as our data source the clinical records, we evaluated age, gender, toxic habits, associated chronic problems, year and diagnostic method, aptness of the therapy indicated, beginning of long-term treatment, the medication chosen and relapses occurred. A data base dBase III Plus was used, applying a descriptive statistical analysis with the #x2 test, comparison of means and variance analysis. The group's mean age was 61.53 and had a high percentage of associated chronic pathology (81.6%). 69.01% suffered from a duodenal ulcer and 30.99% presented other problems which were susceptible to maintenance treatment with anti-ulcer medication. Overall treatment indication was correct in 87.93% of cases. 83.09% of the patients had long-term therapy, the indication being correct in 74.14%. The proportion of correct treatment was greater in the at-risk group (p < 0.005). The drugs used were ranitidine, famotidine, omeprazole and almagate.

CONCLUSIONS

It is important to identify correctly those patients at risk of developing ulcerous pathologies so that the maintenance therapy can be suitably adapted and the best choice of drug be made, with the medical interactions being borne in mind.