Efficacy of sucralfate in the prevention of recurrence of peptic ulcer--double blind multicenter study with cimetidine.

A double blind, multicenter, six-month maintenance study was performed to assess the efficacy and safety of sucralfate (S), cimetidine (C), and their combination (S + C) in the prevention of peptic ulcer recurrence in a six-month observation period. 127 patients with gastric ulcer (GU) (group S: 39, group S + C: 48, group C:40) and 103 patients with duodenal ulcer (DU) (group S: 35, group S + C: 36, group C:32) were available for statistical analysis. Six to 12 months after healing of GU, the cumulative recurrence prevention rates by Kaplan-Meier method were 89.7----80.3% in group S, 97.6----72.6% in group S + C, 84.5----44.6% in group C. In duodenal ulcer they were 75.9----41.9% in group S, 87.8----47.7% in group S + C, 80.8----40.5% in group C. These results indicate that maintenance therapies of S and S + C are effective and safe for the prevention of gastric ulcer recurrence.