Relapse rates after initial ulcer healing with sucralfate and cimetidine.

The relapse rate after successful short-term therapy with sucralfate (Sc) or cimetidine (Cm) was studied in a group of 86 patients with recently healed duodenal or gastric ulcers. The patients were endoscoped on clinical relapse or, routinely, at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. Patients whose ulcers had healed with Cm relapsed earlier than did those whose ulcers had healed with Sc (p less than 0.05 at 12 weeks), but the cumulative relapse rate by the end of 1 year was of the order of 70% in both treatment groups. The mean duration of remission in patients who developed a recurrence was significantly greater in patients treated initially with Sc than in those treated initially with Cm--7.3 and 4.6 months, respectively (p less than 0.01).