[Treatment of acid-related diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Observations in patients receiving a single evening dose of 300 mg ranitidine].

UNLABELLED: Testing of the effectiveness and tolerability of ranitidine treatment in acid-related diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in non-selected outpatients.

STUDY

DESIGN

Observations made by 15,180 general practitioners and internists in the Länder of former West Germany in the period January 1989 to December 1990.

PATIENTS: 23,783 patients with acid-related diseases of the gastrointestinal tract for which treatment with ranitidine is indicated (no further diagnostic or therapeutic requirement).

TREATMENT: 300 mg ranitidine administered in the form of a single evening dose.

RESULTS

A duodenal ulcer presented in 50.1%, a gastric ulcer in 26%, and reflux esophagitis in 29.6% of the patients; in 17.5% some other gastrointestinal disease (for the most part gastritis) was diagnosed. Six weeks of treatment was associated with a high rate of healing (more than 90%). The total incidence of side effects was a very low 0.77% (183 cases). These results confirm the effectiveness and good tolerability of ranitidine.