EFFICACIA E TOLLERABILITA DI PANTOPRAZOLO VS OMEPRAZOLE NELL'ULCERA DUODENALE. PRIMI RISULTATI DI UNO STUDIO MULTICENTRICO EUROPEO

Aim - To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of pantoprazole 40 mg s.i.d. in the treatment of duodenal ulcer, as compared to omeprazole 20 mg s.i.d. Materials and Methods - 96 patients affected by endoscopically-proven duodenal ulcer were randomly treated for 2-4 weeks. Ulcer healing rates and symptom improvement after therapy were evaluated as efficacy criteria. Results - After 2 weeks, ulcer was healed in 35 of 48 patients in the pantoprazole group, and in 30 of 48 in the omeprazole group (72.9% v.s. 62.5%, n.s.). At 4 weeks, corresponding figures were 47 and 44, respectively (97.9% vs 91.7%, n.s.). Among the patients who had ulcer pain prior to treatment, 34 of 40 in the pantoprazole group, and 35 of 40 in the omeprazole group were pain-free after 2 weeks (85% vs 87.5%, n.s.). The incidence of adverse events was comparable in the two groups (6% and 8%, respectively). Conclusions - Pantoprazole was shown to be a highly effective and well tolerated treatment for acute duodenal ulcer with respect both to ulcer healing and pain relief.