Long-term treatment of reflux oesophagitis.

Reflux oesophagitis is a chronic recurrent disease with high tendency towards relapse after medical healing. It has been calculated that after 6 months a symptomatic relapse may occur in about 45% of patients, while a recurrence of mucosal lesions ranges between 20 to 70%. The most important adverse factors affecting the likelihood of recurrence are: a) the daytime symptoms at time of healing and b) an impairment of both oesophageal body motility and LOS tonic and phasic activity. The available data show that the maintenance treatment with anti-H2 at standard doses does not affect the spontaneous recurrence of the disease. Better results could be achieved with higher dosage, possibly tailored to the physiopathological characteristics of the patients.