[Treatment failure of cimetidine in duodenal ulcer (author's transl)]

Acid secretion was measured after a six-week standard treatment with cimetidine in ten patients each with healed or non-healed duodenal ulcer, and the drug's pharmacokinetics studied. There was no difference between the two groups with respect to fasting concentration of cimetidine (compliance), the area under the plasma-level curve, as well as renal excretion (bioavailability) and the period of effective plasma concentration. Maximal secretion during cimetidine treatment was also identical in the two groups. On the other hand, basal secretion in the group of treatment failure was significantly increased (P less than 0.05). Basal secretion during administration of cimetidine can be used as a prognostic criterion for the healing of duodenal ulcer.