Relapse of duodenal ulceration after healing with omeprazole

The subsequent recurrence rate after duodenal ulcers were healed with omeprazole, 10 mg or 30 mg a day, was documented during a 12-month period in 55 patients. Endoscopy was performed if patients developed symptomatic recurrence; those patients who remained symptom-free at 12 months were also requested to undergo endoscopy to assess the incidence of asymptomatic recurrence. The proportion with symptomatic recurrence during the year was 56%. The median times (life-table analysis) to relapse were 50 and 39 weeks in the group that was treated initially with 30 mg and 10 mg of omeprazole, respectively, although this trend to slower relapse in the higher-dose group was not statistically significant. Five asymptomatic ulcers were detected in 11 asymptomatic subjects who agreed to a final endoscopy. The over-all recurrence rate was similar to previously-reported recurrence rates after the cessation of histamine H2-receptor antagonist drugs.