Ranitidine in the treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage--a comparative study. Preliminary report

50 patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) were randomly allocated to treatment with i.v. Ranitidine 50 mg b.d., or to a standard conservative therapy. When possible i.v. administration was replaced by oral ranitidine 150 mg b.d. for a total of up to 10 days. Three subgroups included gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer and haemorrhagic gastritis. The criteria were: the need for blood replacement, comparison of the endoscopic appearance before and after therapy, and the final outcome of treatment, including the need for surgery. Ranitidine appeared to be superior to the standard treatment, the advantages being due largely to the gastric ulcer cases.