[Cimetidine treatment of anastomotic ulcers (author's transl)]

Fifteen patients with anastomotic ulcer were treated with cimetidine for 30 days. Endoscopy showed healing or marked regression of the ulcer in 53% of the cases. Neither the type of operation previously performed nor the amount of gastric secretion prior to entering the trial gave any indication as to which patients would respond to treatment. Other authors using the same therapeutic regimen have obtained similar results, but some have reported that extending treatment up to 8 weeks seems to produce considerably better results. The present authors conclude that cimetidine may constitute a suitable alternative to a second surgical operation.