Effect of famotidine on recurrent bleeding after successful endoscopic treatment of bleeding peptic ulcer

Summary Aim: We investigated the effect of acid suppression therapy on recurrent bleeding after successful endoscopic treatment of bleeding peptic ulcer. Methods: A total of 400 patients with bleeding peptic ulcer received either intravenous infusion of famotidine (40 mg/day) (n = 207, 163 males, 44 females, mean age 61.5 years) or drip infusion of omeprazole (40 mg/day; n = 193, 134 males, 59 females, mean age 59.8 years) after successful endoscopic treatment. The fasting duration, hospital stay, volume of transfused blood, incidence of rebleeding and mortality were compared between the two groups. Results: The incidence of rebleeding did not differ significantly between the famotidine group (9%) and the omeprazole group (8%). The mean hospital stay was significantly shorter in the omeprazole group (18.4 days) than in the famotidine group (21.5 days, P = 0.009). However, there was no statistically significant difference in fasting duration, volume of transfused blood or mortality. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that intravenous infusion of famotidine after successful endoscopic treatment is equivalent to drip infusion of omeprazole for prevention of recurrent bleeding.