Long-term treatment of duodenal ulcer.

Eighty per cent, or more, of duodenal and gastric ulcers which have healed after a course of treatment with drugs relapse when therapy is discontinued. Only gastric operations or continuous maintenance treatment with H2 receptor antagonists have so far been shown to produce sustained remission in the majority of patients. Maintenance treatment with drugs is safer than gastric surgery, since the adverse effects of medical therapy are uncommon, mild and reversible while the after-effects of surgery are common and may be severe and irreversible. The maintenance treatment of ulcer patients must be continued for many years and may, perhaps, have to be life-long.