Intravenous esomeprazole 40 mg vs. intravenous lansoprazole 30 mg for controlling intragastric acidity in healthy adults

Background  Intravenous (IV) formulations of proton pump inhibitors are effective for patients in whom oral therapy is not appropriate.
Aim  To compare IV esomeprazole and IV lansoprazole for the control of intragastric pH.
Methods  In this open-label crossover study, healthy, Helicobacter pylori -negative adults were randomized to one of two treatment sequences, each consisting of two 5-day dosing periods of IV esomeprazole 40 mg or IV lansoprazole 30 mg. Twenty-four-hour intragastric pH monitoring was conducted on days 1 and 5 of each dosing period.
Results  On days 1 and 5, intragastric pH was >4.0 significantly longer with esomeprazole than lansoprazole (least-squares means: day 1, 40.0% vs. 33.6%; day 5, 61.9% vs. 45.4%; both P  <   0.0001). During the first 4 h of pH monitoring, intragastric pH was >4.0 significantly longer on days 1 and 5 with esomeprazole than lansoprazole ( P  <   0.0001). Kaplan–Meier estimates of median hours to stable pH >4.0 were 4.92 for esomeprazole and 5.75 for lansoprazole ( P  =   0.0014 for test on Gehan scores).
Conclusion  In healthy adults, IV esomeprazole 40 mg controlled intragastric acidity faster and more effectively than IV lansoprazole 30 mg.