A Comparative Evaluation of Lafutidine and Rabeprazole in the Treatment of Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer: A Double-blind, Randomized Study in Indian Patients

Aims: To assess the efficacy of lafutidine therapy versus rabeprazole in Indian patients with endoscopically and histologically proven gastritis and peptic ulcer. Study Design: A double blind, double dummy, randomized, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Global Liver and Gastroenterology Centre, Bhopal, India, between March 2010 and October 2010. Methodology: A total of 100 patients were enrolled, including 50 with endoscopically and histologically proven gastritis and other 50 with peptic ulcer (over 5 mm in diameter). Each group was randomized to receive either lafutidine or rabeprazole tablet and their corresponding competitor placebo dummy tablet, for a period of 4 weeks. Cure rate was confirmed endoscopically at the end of week 4 as compared to the baseline evaluation. Symptom response and Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) eradication were also compared among the two drugs at the end of the treatment period. Results: Complete cure of gastritis was observed in all the patients (100%) treated with lafutidine and 95.24% [20/21; 95% CI: 76.18 to 99.88%] patients treated with rabeprazole. Complete cure of ulcer was observed in 72.0 (18/25, 95% CI = 50.61 to 87.93%) and 79.16% (19/24, 95% CI = 57.85 to 92.87%) patients treated with lafutidine and rabeprazole respectively. There was no significant difference in gastritis/ulcer cure rate and symptom response rate between the two treatment groups at the end of the study. H pylori eradication rates was 82.61% (19/23) in lafutidine group vs 47.37% (9 /19) in rabeprazole group (Δ=35.2%, 95% CI = 3.2 to 67.3%; P= .023). Both, lafutidine and rabeprazole were well tolerated during the entire study. Conclusion: Endoscopically proven cure rate in patients suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcers is found to be comparable after 4 weeks treatment with Lafutidine and rabeprazole, but lafutidine showed better H. pylori eradication rate as compared to rabeprazole.