Cimetidine in the treatment of active duodenal and prepyloric ulcers.

44 patients with endoscopically confirmed duodenal (36) or prepyloric (8) ulcers have received in a double-blind trial either the histamine H2-receptor antagonist cimetidine (30 patients) or placebo (14 patients) for six weeks. At three weeks 67% of patients treated with cimetidine and 17% of those receiving placebo had endoscopically healed ulcers (chi2 = 8.49; P less than 0.005). At six weeks all except 3 patients receiving cimetidine (90%) had healed ulcers compared with 36% receiving placebo (chi2 = 11.11; P less than 0.001). Those receiving cimetidine had less daytime and nocturnal pain than patients on placebo. The differences were statistically significant for daytime pain during four of six weeks. The cimetidine-treated patients consumed significantly less antacids than placebo-treated patients and these patients' overall assessments of their wellbeing were significantly better. All patients on cimetidine had a significant reduction (P less than 0.0005) of their basal and pentagastrin-stimulated acid secretion, but no reduction in acid secretion was measured in the group who received placebo.