The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7448 p447
21 April 2007

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Early PPI use for bleeding ulcers

Early intravenous infusion of a high-dose proton pump inhibitor before endoscopy is justified, having a therapeutic effect on bleeding ulcers, say researchers.

They tested the approach using omeprazole as an 80mg bolus followed by an 8mg per hour infusion in a trial of 638 patients. Compared with placebo, omeprazole accelerated resolution of signs of bleeding in ulcers and reduced the need for endoscopic therapy (New England Journal of Medicine 2007;356:1631).