Ulcer associated and nonspecific duodenitis treatment by cimetidine

Of a total of 230 patients subjected to endoscopy for various reasons 16 were found to have duodenal ulcer and duodenitis (group A) and 16 duodenitis but without an ulcer (group B). Duodenal mucosal biopsy was done in both groups and histological confirmation of duodenitis was noted in 9 of the group A and in 10 of group B. Endoscopy after short-term cimetidine treatment in group A patients revealed ulcer healing in 87.5 percent and improvement of duodenitis in 50 percent. In group B the duodenitis improved endoscopically in 43.7 percent. Histology confirmed the improvement of duodenitis in 31.2 percent and 18.7 percent for groups A and B respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. It is concluded that endoscopic duodenitis is not always confirmed histologically and that cimetidine is effective in a proportion of patients with duodenitis in the presence or not of an ulcer.