| pubmed-article:2702016 | pubmed:abstractText | Many recently published papers have focused on the problem of the treatment of recurring duodenal ulcers and time trends, given the rate of late recurrences observed with long-term protocol. The results of trials with seasonal protocols are therefore presented. Given the seasonal trends in duodenal ulcer recurrence, a stable oscillatory behaviour with fluctuations of 6-month periodicity was demonstrated with the use of conventional statistical methods. With the utilization of the more sophisticated spectral analysis of data from many centers in Italy, the time trends of this condition have been characterized in greater detail, and cycles of increased recurrences every 4, 6 and 12 months have been evidenced. On the basis of these data, a randomized controlled trial in 60 patients treated with cimetidine, 30 patients in long-term and 30 in seasonal treatment showed similar results: the recurrence rate was 30% in both groups over a 12-month period. Preliminary results of a new multicenter trial in 110 patients with the same protocol (cimetidine 400 mg nocte), confirm these results. In conclusion, the two trials tend to confirm the validity of preventive protocols that respect seasonal fluctuations. | lld:pubmed |
