Randomized double-blind clinical trial of aluminum phosphate versus ranitidine in the acute treatment of duodenal ulcer

A randomized double-blind clinical trial of aluminum phosphate versus ranitidine in the treatment of noncomplicated acute duodenal ulcer has been conducted in 91 patients. After randomization the 42 patients of the aluminum phosphate group were comparable to the 49 patients of the ranitidine group. At 4 weeks, 6 patients were not endoscoped and according to the intention-to-treat method they were considered as treatment failure. The endoscopy showed a 60% healing rate in the aluminum phosphate group (25/42) versus 55% in the ranitidine group (27/49); this difference was not significant. Among the factors assessed, only one, the round shape of the ulcer, was significantly and independently associated with ulcer healing in a multidimensional analysis. In conclusion, this double-blind trial showed that aluminum phosphate is an effective, save and cheap treatment of acute duodenal ulcer.