Esomeprazole 40 mg administered intravenously has similar safety and efficacy profiles to the oral formulation in patients with erosive esophagitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS

An intravenous formulation of esomeprazole has been developed for use in patients where oral administration is not appropriate. This study evaluated safety after 1 and 4 weeks, and efficacy after 4 weeks' esomeprazole 40 mg once daily treatment, administered via an intravenous injection, intravenous infusion or orally, in patients with erosive esophagitis.

METHODS

In this double-blind, multi-centre study, patients with endoscopically confirmed erosive esophagitis (Los Angeles grade A-D) were randomized to receive 1 week's treatment of esomeprazole 40 mg once daily, via a 3-min injection, a 30-min infusion or orally, followed by 3 weeks of open treatment with oral esomeprazole 40 mg once daily. Safety variables were evaluated following 1 and 4 weeks' esomeprazole treatment. Healing rates at 4 weeks were estimated.

RESULTS

Intravenous and oral esomeprazole were equally well tolerated during the first week, and after 4 weeks' treatment. The 3 treatment groups showed similar levels of healing following 4 weeks' treatment with esomeprazole (injection + oral: 79.7%; infusion + oral: 80.2%; oral alone: 82.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Esomeprazole 40 mg administered via an intravenous injection, intravenous infusion or orally administered for 1 week, followed by 3 weeks of oral dosing, is well tolerated and provides effective healing of erosive esophagitis.

HLA class I and II antigens in South African blacks with Graves' disease

A study was done to evaluate the relationship between Graves' disease and the HLA system in South African Blacks of Zulu descent. One hundred and three patients with Graves' disease and 1416 control subjects were typed for HLA A, B, and C antigens while HLA DR antigens were done on 63 of the former and 330 of the latter. There was a significant increase in the frequency of HLA DR3 in patients compared to control subjects (57.1% vs 36.1%; P corrected = 0.014). A relationship was also seen at the DR1 locus (14.3% vs 4.6%; P corrected = 0.023).

Acute renal failure in the "Comrades Marathon" runners

This study investigated the clinical and biochemical features of acute renal failure in marathon runners. Over a period of 18 years (1969-1986), 19 patients were admitted to the renal unit. The histories and biochemical data of 4 patients seen in 1986 are described. The pathophysiology of acute renal failure is multifactorial and is the combined effect of rhabdomyolysis, dehydration, hypotension, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and hyperuricaemia. Efforts to correct dehydration have resulted in a decrease in the incidence of acute renal failure. The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is to be deprecated and efforts should be made to publicize this harmful effect.