A comparison of cimetidine and sucralfate in the treatment of bleeding peptic ulcers.

To assess the efficacy of cimetidine versus sucralfate in terminating or preventing further bleeding of peptic ulcers, patients presenting with bleeding from duodenal or gastric ulcers were openly randomized to receive cimetidine 1800 mg/day or sucralfate 8 g/day for a 1-wk period. All patients were endoscoped within 8 h of their presentation with bleeding. Patients were included only if they had evidence of severe or active bleeding. After randomization, patients were assessed for transfusion requirements, continued bleeding and rebleeding, the need for emergency surgery, and medication side effects. Ten patients were randomized to each group. Mean transfusion requirements were the same in both groups. In the cimetidine group, two patients rebled and two had serious side effects. In the sucralfate group, two patients had rebleeding requiring surgery, and there were no side effects of therapy. Sucralfate may be an alternative to cimetidine in treating bleeding peptic ulcers.