Effect of omeprazole in the treatment of refractory acid-related diseases in childhood: Endoscopic healing and twenty-four-hour intragastric acidity

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical efficacy of once-daily treatment with omeprazole in refractory acid-related diseases in children. METHODS: Endoscopic healing and 24-hour intragastric pH values were assessed in 13 patients with refractory reflux esophagitis (n = 5), refractory and/or giant duodenal ulcer (n = 6), or giant gastric ulcer (n = 2). The mean dose of omeprazole was 0.6 mg/kg per day (range, 0.3 to 0.7 mg/kg per day). Pharmacokinetic studies of omeprazole were performed in seven patients. RESULTS: The cumulative healing rates at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of treatment were 46%, 85%, 92%, and 92%, respectively. Esophagitis in one patient did not heal despite increases in doses of up to 1.6 mg/kg per day (40 mg/day). The mean intragastric pH of omeprazole-treated patients was 5.2 (range, 3.0 to 6.6) and mean hydrogen ion activity was 1.78 mmol/L (range, 0.01 to 10.42 mmol/L). There was wide interindividual variation in the reduction of gastric acid production. Mean intragastric H + activity in omeprazole-treated patients was significantly lower than that of control subjects ( p <0.005) and that of patients treated with histamine type 2 (H 2)-receptor antagonists ( p <0.05). Mean intragastric H + activity was not significantly correlated to the area under the concentration-time curve of omeprazole. No severe adverse effects were reported during treatment or at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Omeprazole has a potent antisecretory effect and is a suitable alternative for short-term treatment of refractory acid-related diseases; a relatively low dose (0.6 mg/kg per day) appears to be optimal in most patients. Unhealed esophagitis at 8 weeks of treatment was considered to be refractory to omeprazole. (J P EDIATR1996;128:415-21)