A pragmatic trial of cimetidine in duodenal ulcer patients.

Fifty-eight outpatients with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of duodenal ulcer completed a double-blind randomized trial of the effect of cimetidine on ulcer symptoms. Patients normally treated in general practice were included in the trial. The patients in the treatment group received cimetidine 1 g daily and the controls received inactive tablets. The treatment period was four weeks. During the last nine days 18 (60%) of 30 cimetidine-treated patients were symptom-free against 5 (18%) of 28 controls (P less than 0.005). The antacid consumption, the number of days with pain and the number of hours with pain also differed significantly in the two groups. Apart from a transient rash in one patient no important clinical side-effects were noted. The serum creatinine rose slightly in the cimetidine-treated patients.