A Comparison of the Effect of High-dose Oral and Intravenous Proton Pump Inhibitor on the Prevention of Rebleeding after Endoscopic Treatment of Bleeding Peptic Ulcers

Jang, Jae Young; Joo, Kwang Ro; Hwangbo, Young; Jeong, Lae Ik; Choi, Sun Young; Jung, Ji Heon; Chae, Myung Jong; Lee, Sang Kil; Dong, Seok Ho; Kim, Hyo Jong; Kim, Byung Ho; Chang, Young Woon; Lee, Joung Il; Chang, Rin

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prevents rebleeding by elevating the intragastric pH in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers after hemostasis has been achieved. We assessed if high-dose oral pantoprazole is as effective as high-dose intravenous pantoprazole for their ability to prevent rebleeding after having achieved initial hemostasis in patients with active bleeding or nonbleeding visible vessels.
METHODS
Thirty eight patients with bleeding peptic ulcers who had achieved initial hemostasis were enrolled in this randomized controlled trial. In the high-dose oral pantoprazole group (n=19), 40 mg of pantoprazole was given orally twice daily for 5 days. In the high-dose intravenous pantoprazole group (n=19), an 80 mg intravenous bolus of pantoprazole was given; this was followed by 8 mg/hour of continuous infusion daily for 3 days. Thereafter, 40 mg of pantoprazole was given orally once daily for 8 weeks.
RESULTS
The two groups were similar with respect to all the background variables. Rebleeding occurred in 2 patients (10.5%) in the intravenous group and in 1 patient in the oral group (5.3%) by day 30 after enrollment (p=1.000). There was no significant difference in terms of the number of therapeutic endoscopic sessions (1 vs. 1.13+/-0.52), the surgery (0% vs. 0%), the bleeding related mortality (0% vs. 0%), and the mean number of units of transfused blood.
CONCLUSIONS
The high-dose oral pantoprazole is as effective as an intravenous administration in reducing rebleeding episodes in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers after successful endoscopic therapy.