[Effectiveness of maintenance treatment with cimetidine in duodenal ulcer. Variations depending on the risk group]

One hundred and twenty-two patients with confirmed duodenal ulcer were treated with cimetidine during 6 or 12 weeks. After gastroscopic confirmation of healing, treatment was suppressed during 3 months. Patients were randomized into two therapeutic regimens: intermittent according to recurrence of symptoms and maintenance with 400 mg cimetidine. In patients considered as having mild disease (healing at 6 weeks without recurrence) fared better with maintenance therapy than with intermittent dosage. All patients with moderate to severe disease on intermittent therapy had a recurrence (criterion: more than 6 weeks for healing the ulcer or recurrence before three months). Those on maintenance therapy had the following results: no recurrences 28%, one recurrence 56% and more than one 16%. Ninety three patients were followed during one entire year. There was also a statistical difference in the number of severe complications among patients on continuous maintenance (nil) and those on intermittent therapy (8%, p less than 0.05).