Korean J Neurogastroenterol Motil.  2005 Dec;11(2):104-109.

A Prospective Open Trial of Rabeprazole versus Cimetidine for Preventing the Symptomatic Relapse of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Kim JH
• Kim BG
• Kim JH
• Seo YS
• Kim JY
• Yeon JE
• Park JJ
• Kim JS
• Byun KS
• Bak YT

Abstract

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS
The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the efficacy of an open treatment with rabeprazole (R) and cimetidine (C) for the prevention of symptomatic relapse of GERD.
METHODS
Ninety one patients with GERD who had become symptom-free after their initial treatment were asked to choose either R (10 mg/day) or C (1200 mg/day) for their a maintenance therapy. They visited the outpatient clinic every 4 weeks to evaluate their symptoms.
RESULTS
The median and maximum follow-up periods were 8 and 76 weeks, respectively, in the R group and 8 and 68 weeks, respectively, in the C group. Treatment failure rates were 6.5% in the R group and 48.9% in the C group. Beside the failure of treatment, the reasons for the patients' request for changing their medications were mainly the expensive cost in the R group and the unsatisfactory effect in the C group. The mean symptom-free period in the R and C groups were 69.8 weeks and 31.3 weeks, respectively (p<0.001). The relative hazard ratio of symptom relapse was 7.55 (p=0.002) in group C as compared with group R. The proportion of patients without symptom at 24 weeks was 90.6% in the R group and 57.4% in the C group. The proportion of patients without symptoms at 52 weeks was 90.6% in the R group and 0% in the C group.
CONCLUSIONS
As a maintenance therapy, rabeprazole is far more effective than cimetidine for preventing the relapse of GERD symptoms.

Keyword

Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Maintenance therapy; Rabeprazole; Cimetidine

MeSH Terms

Ambulatory Care Facilities
Cimetidine*
Follow-Up Studies
Gastroesophageal Reflux*
Humans
Prospective Studies*
Rabeprazole*
Recurrence*
Treatment Failure
Cimetidine