Cimetidine treatment of recurrent ulcer after proximal gastric vagotomy

Twenty-one patients with endoscopically confirmed recurrent ulceration after proximal gastric vagotomy entered an open trial of treatment with cimetidine, 1.0 g/day. Twenty patients completed 6 weeks' treatment, and repeat endoscopy showed ulcer healing in 18 of 20 patients. One patient's ulcer was found to be healed on X-ray examination, and the other patient had a healed ulcer after an additional 2 weeks' treatment. Eighteen of the patients with healed ulcer entered a maintenance trial of cimetidine, 400 mg at night. During the 1-year follow-up period the occurrence of symptoms led to re-endoscopy in 11 patients. Re-ulceration was confirmed in six patients (33%), and mean time to ulcer recurrence was 18.2 weeks. Ulcer recurrence was treated with an increased dose of cimetidine and antacids. All the ulcers then healed again, and the patients remained well on a maintenance dose of cimetidine, 800 mg/day. None of the patients had to be operated on during the trial. Two patients developed gynaecomastia during maintenance treatment with 400 mg cimetidine a day. No serious untoward signs or symptoms occurred that necessitated withdrawal from the trial. It seems as if recurrent ulcers after proximal gastric vagotomy respond to cimetidine treatment approximately as do peptic ulcers in unoperated patients.