Seven-day intravenous low-dose omeprazole infusion reduces peptic ulcer rebleeding for patients with comorbidities.

BACKGROUND: Patients with comorbidities have an increased risk of ulcer rebleeding, especially within the 28 days after endoscopic therapy. Omeprazole infusion can prevent rebleeding after endoscopic therapy in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding. However, the optimal duration is uncertain, especially for those patients with comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prolonged low-dose intravenous omeprazole could reduce rebleeding for patients with comorbidities. DESIGN: A prospective randomized control study. SETTING: National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. PATIENTS: A total of 147 patients with comorbidities and peptic ulcer bleeding controlled by endoscopic hemostasis were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: The enrolled patients were randomized into either the 7-day low-dose group or the 3-day high-dose group, who received 3.3 mg/h or 8 mg/h continuous omeprazole infusion, respectively. After omeprazole infusion, oral esomeprazole 40 mg every day was given. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: To compare the rebleeding rates within 28 days after gastroscopy between the 2 study groups. RESULTS: The 7-day cumulative rebleeding rate was similar between the 2 groups (9.5% vs 9.7%, P > .05), but the 7-day low-dose group had a lower risk of rebleeding between the 8th and 28th day compared with the 3-day high-dose group (0% vs 10.7%, P = .03; relative risk, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.43-0.63]). The Kaplan-Meier curves confirmed that the 7-day low-dose group had a significantly higher cumulative rebleeding-free proportion between the 8th and 28th day than the 3-day high-dose group (P = .02, log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS: In Asian patients, prolonged low-dose omeprazole infusion for 7 days may reduce peptic ulcer rebleeding during the first 28 days in patients with comorbidities.

Endoscopic injection for the treatment of bleeding ulcers: local tamponade or drug effect?

Fifty-two patients with Forrest Ia or Ib bleeding ulcers were randomized to receive endoscopic injection therapy with either 1:10,000 epinephrine in water (Group I) or distilled water (Group II). Twenty-five out of 27 patients in group I, versus 22 out of 25 patients in group II, achieved initial hemostasis after endoscopic injection therapy (p > 0.05). Five patients who did not respond to local injection had bleeding controlled by heater probe thermocoagulation or surgical intervention. Three patients in each group developed rebleeding after initial hemostasis. Four of these patients had bleeding controlled by surgical intervention, while the other two died of underlying diseases. No change in systemic blood pressure, but a significant drop in the pulse rate were noted in both groups after injection therapy. Patients with shock at admission or ulcer size greater than 2 cm had a significantly higher rebleeding rate after initial hemostasis than patients with normal blood pressure and ulcers under 2 cm (p < 0.05). No serious complications were observed after injection therapy, and no significant difference in the amounts of solution required for successful hemostasis was noted between the two groups. We conclude that a local tamponade with distilled water is as effective and safe as diluted epinephrine solution for endoscopic injection therapy.