[Somatostatin in severe peptic ulcer hemorrhage]

Somatostatin was compared with intensive antacid and thrombin in a randomised controlled study on 15 patients with severe haemorrhages of the upper digestive tract deriving from peptic ulcers and identified endoscopically in order to assess the efficacy of the two drugs. The results in both groups were similar but somatostatin appeared more effective than antacids and thrombin in terms of blood transfusions required and the average time it took to stop the bleeding. The insignificance of these results is in contrast with the data from similar studies using other drugs (anti-H2) and reported by others. This shows the need for controlled polycentric studies conducted on large groups of homogeneous patients.