Lansoprazole versus famotidine in symptomatic reflux esophagitis: a randomized, multicenter study.

We compared the usefulness of lansoprazole and famotidine for treatment of reflux esophagitis. Fifty-four subjects with moderate to severe reflux esophagitis were divided into two groups. The lansoprazole group (LPZ) received lansoprazole 30 mg once daily for 4 weeks, followed by famotidine 20 mg twice daily for 4 weeks. The famotidine group (FAM) received the same medications in the reverse order. Patient evaluation was based on six factors found on endoscopy, and on patient reports of heartburn. Evaluations were done before the start of the study and at 4 and 8 weeks. The improvement rates in the grade of GI classification at 4 weeks were 57.7% in the LPZ group and 38.5% in the FAM group; there was no significant difference between the two groups. However, after drugs were switched, more patients who switched to famotidine experienced a deterioration of their condition than did those who switched to lansoprazole. The percentages of "useful" or "very useful" were not significantly different between the two groups, but the percentage of "very useful" in the LPZ group (46.2%) was significantly higher than that in the FAM group (14.3%) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that lansoprazole is the first drug of choice for treatment of moderate to severe reflux esophagitis.