The use of cimetidine in newborns

Cimetidine, a specific H2 antagonist and a potent inhibitor of gastric secretion, was administered in newborns who failed to tolerate oral feeding and presented with abnormal gastric residues accompanied by microscopic or macroscopic high gastrointestinal bleeding. This group of 18 infants was compared to a control group of 15 in similar clinical conditions. After 4 days of treatment with cimetidine (24 mg/kg/day), adapted oral alimentation generally was well tolerated with normal gastric residues. No side effects of the therapy were observed.