Cimetidine and ulcer surgery. Some results for Queensland men and women by ulcer type.

Although numerous clinical trials have demonstrated that cimetidine is efficacious in the treatment of peptic ulcer, fewer studies have examined whether cimetidine reduces the need for surgical therapy when it is prescribed in the noncontrolled environment of clinical medicine. This study reports on the surgical experience in the State of Queensland which has an excellent data set for investigating this matter. The results suggest that cimetidine therapy has led to a reduction in the rates of surgical interventions for gastric ulcers, but has had no effect on the rates of surgery for duodenal ulcers. This conclusion holds both for male and for female patients.