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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, cause upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that are relieved by treatment with esomeprazole. We assessed esomeprazole for maintaining long-term relief of such symptoms. Six hundred and ten patients with a chronic condition requiring anti-inflammatory therapy who achieved relief of NSAID-associated symptoms of pain, discomfort, or burning in the upper abdomen during two previous studies were enrolled and randomly assigned into two identical, multicentre, parallel-group, placebo-controlled studies of esomeprazole 20 mg or 40 mg treatment (NASA2 [Nexium Anti-inflammatory Symptom Amelioration] and SPACE2 [Symptom Prevention by Acid Control with Esomeprazole] studies; ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers NCT00241514 and NCT00241553, respectively) performed at various rheumatology, gastroenterology, and primary care clinics. Four hundred and twenty-six patients completed the 6-month treatment period. The primary measure was the proportion of patients with relapse of upper GI symptoms, recorded in daily diary cards, after 6 months. Relapse was defined as moderate-to-severe upper GI symptoms (a score of more than or equal to 3 on a 7-grade scale) for 3 days or more in any 7-day period. Esomeprazole was significantly more effective than placebo in maintaining relief of upper GI symptoms throughout 6 months of treatment. Life-table estimates (95% confidence intervals) of the proportion of patients with relapse at 6 months (pooled population) were placebo, 39.1% (32.2% to 46.0%); esomeprazole 20 mg, 29.3% (22.3% to 36.2%) (p = 0.006 versus placebo); and esomeprazole 40 mg, 26.1% (19.4% to 32.9%) (p = 0.001 versus placebo). Patients on either non-selective NSAIDs or selective COX-2 inhibitors appeared to benefit. The frequency of adverse events was similar in the three groups. Esomeprazole maintains relief of NSAID-associated upper GI symptoms in patients taking continuous NSAIDs

Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk of serious gastroduodenal events. To minimise these risks, patients often require concomitant acid-suppressive therapy. We conducted a literature review of clinical trials examining use of ranitidine 150 mg twice daily to heal gastroduodenal ulcers (GU) in NSAID recipients. Seven studies were identified. After 8 weeks' treatment with ranitidine, GU healing rates ranged from 50% to 74% and rates of duodenal ulcer (DU) healing ranged from 81% to 84%. Ranitidine was more effective when NSAIDs were discontinued (healing rates reaching 95% and 100%, respectively). The ulcer healing rate with sucralfate was similar to that of ranitidine. However, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy was associated with significantly greater rates of both GU and DU healing than ranitidine; 8-week GU rates were 92% and 88% with esomeprazole 40 mg and 20 mg, respectively (vs. 74% with ranitidine, p < 0.01). For omeprazole, 8-week healing rates were 87% with omeprazole 40 mg and 84% with omeprazole 20 mg (vs. 64% for ranitidine, p < 0.001), and for lansoprazole the corresponding values were 73-74% and 66-69% for the 30 mg and 15 mg doses, respectively (vs. 50-53% for ranitidine, p < 0.05). In the PPI study reporting DU healing the values were 92% for omeprazole 20 mg (vs. 81% for ranitidine, p < 0.05) and 88% for omeprazole 40 mg (p = 0.17 vs. ranitidine). NSAID-associated GU are more likely to heal when patients receive concomitant treatment with a PPI rather than ranitidine.

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in the treatment of systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis but are associated with a range of adverse gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, including dyspepsia, peptic ulcer, and ulcer complications. Several studies have compared the relative efficacy and tolerability of omeprazole, ranitidine, and misoprostol in the management of NSAID-associated GI adverse events. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to summarize and evaluate the results of 4 clinical studies that compared the efficacy and tolerability of omeprazole, misoprostol, and ranitidine in the acute and maintenance treatment of NSAID-associated gastroduodenal ulcers and GI symptoms. Methods: The 4 trials, which included 1822 patients being treated continuously with NSAIDs, studied omeprazole (20 and 40 mg once daily) as acute treatment for healing gastroduodenal ulcers and erosions and as prophylaxis (20 mg once daily) over 3 to 6 months. Comparators were misoprostol 200 µg 4 times daily or ranitidine 150 mg twice daily in the acute phases and misoprostol 200 µg twice daily, ranitidine 150 mg twice daily, or placebo in the prophylactic phases. Results: Gastric and duodenal ulcer healing rates were higher with omeprazole than with either misoprostol (P = 0.004 for gastric ulcers, P < 0.001 for duodenal ulcers) or ranitidine (P < 0.001 for gastric ulcers, P = 0.032 for duodenal ulcers). A significantly larger percentage of patients taking misoprostol had the number of gastric or duodenal erosions reduced from >10 to <5 compared with patients taking omeprazole (P < 0.001), whereas a significantly larger percentage of patients taking omeprazole achieved the same reduction in number of erosions compared with patients taking ranitidine (P = 0.008). More patients taking omeprazole remained in remission than patients taking misoprostol (P = 0.001), ranitidine (P = 0.004), or placebo (P < 0.001). More patients taking misoprostol (16.9%

Objective: To compare the impact on quality of life (QoL) of omeprazole and misoprostol during healing, and omeprazole, misoprostol, and placebo during maintenance treatment in chronic NSAID users with NSAID-associated gastroduodenal lesions. Methods: Validated baseline and follow-up QoL questionnaires were completed by 610 patients (healing: after 4.8 weeks: maintenance: after 6 months). Results: Patients with arthritis being treated with NSAIDs have a poor QoL. Rheumatoid arthritis causes more joint problem. and physical mobility limitations than osteoarthritis. Chronic NSAID use causes heartburn and dyspepsia. QoL improved on both treatments (about equally on two general QOL scales), but omeprazole relieved gastrointestinal symptoms more than misoprostol, particularly reflux. abdominal pain and indigestion symptoms, During maintenance, both treatments maintained QoL, but misoprostol induced diarrhoea, Conclusion: QoL in arthritis patient, on chronic NSAID treatment is destroyed. Omeprazole is superior to misoprostol for relief and prevention of NSAID-associated gastrointestinal symptoms allowing continued NSAID treatment without compromising the patients' QoL.