| SHORT COMMUNICATION |
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| Year : 2000 | Volume
: 32
| Issue : 3 | Page : 246-249 |
A comparative study of the effects of famotidine and sucralfate in prevention of upper gastro-intestinal bleeding in patients of head injury
S Kaushal, V Midha, A Sood, SC Chopra, C Gupta
Correspondence Address:
S Kaushal
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
Objective: To study the effectiveness of famotidine and sucralfate in the prophylaxis of stress ulcers and upper gastrointestinal bleed in patients of head injury.
Methods: Seventy five consecutive patients, who had sustained head injury within the previous 24 hours, were randomly allocated to three groups to receive either no regular prophylactic anti-ulcer treatment (Group I) or prophylactic famotidine (FM) 20 mg twice daily (Group II) or prophylactic sucralfate (SC) 2 g twice daily (Group III). Escape anti-ulcer treatment was allowed in case of three positive tests for occult blood in nasogastric aspirate.
Results: Incidence of upper gastro-intestinal bleeding was significantly lower in group II (p < 0.05) as compared to groups I and II. A higher incidence of bleeding was seen in patients with lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, particularly in those receiving no prophylactic treatment (Group I), against which both famotidine and sucralfate were not effective. The most commonly observed type of bleeding was occult bleeding. Both famotidine and sucralfate decreased the Grade Day Product significantly, famotidine being more effective than sucralfate.
Conclusion: Famotidine is more effective than sucralfate in preventing and controlling stress-related upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage of moderate intensity in patients of head injury.
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