Observation on the efficacy of the treatment of reflux esophagitis with omeprazole.

Objective To evaluate the effect of omeprazole in the treatment of reflux esophagitis.Methods 80 patients with reflux esophagitis diagnosed by endoscopy were given each 20 mg of omeprazole po.,qd.2,4 and 6 weeks after the beginning of the medication,the effects of the drug on the symptoms such as sour regurgitation,heart burn and reflux of food were kept under observation.Gastroscopy was repeated 6 weeks after the beginning of the treatment for appraising the cure rate.Results 2 weeks of omeprazole treatment resulted in a dramatic abatement of symptoms,with a significant decrease in the symptoms scores(P0.01).The rates of significant effectualness of symptomatic treatment were 52.5%,81.3%and 87.5% after 2,4 and 6 weeks of medication,respectively.(Rates of the 4 th and 6 th weeks versus rate of the 2 nd week,P0.01).The total effective rate of symptom abatement was 95.0% after 6 weeks of treatment.At the same time,the cure rate of Grade I esophagitis(92.3%)was higher than that(80.0%)of Grade Ⅱ esophagitis.The cure rate of Grade Ⅲ and Grade Ⅳ esophagitis was 62.5%.The differences,however,were insignificant.Conclusion Omeprazole was found to be an effective medicine in the treatment of reflux esophagitis.