Meredith C G, Kennedy M C, Wade D N, Sweeten M V, Byrnes D J, Frommer D J, Hennessy W B
Aust N Z J Med. 1980 Dec;10(6):611-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1980.tb04241.x.
Patients presenting with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding from a variety of lesions were admitted to a prospective double-blind controlled trial to determine if cimetidine reduces the severity of bleeding and/or the incidence of rebleeding. During the first 48 hours, the patients received intravenous cimetidine (200 mg four-hourly) or placebo, and for the following ten days, oral cimetidine (1 g/24 hr) or placebo. Eight-eight patients entered the trial of whom 45 (51%) were in the cimetidine-treated group. Six of the seven patients requiring surgery for life-threatening bleeding and four of the six patients who rebled were in the cimetidine-treated group. This study failed to demonstrate any advantage of using cimetidine routinely in the treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
