Alternative vs. conventional treatment given on-demand for gastroesophageal reflux disease: a randomised controlled trial
Alternative treatments are commonly used for various disorders and often taken on-demand. On-demand treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with pharmaceutical products is an established, cost-effective strategy.
Comparisons between alternative medicine and pharmaceutical products are rare. The aim of this trial was to compare on-demand treatment with a pectin-based, raft-forming, natural, anti-reflux agent (PRA) with that of esomeprazole 20 mg (Eso20) in patients with mild/moderate GERD.
Methods: Patients with mild/moderate GERD were randomised to a six weeks' on-demand treatment with PRA or Eso20 in a pragmatic, open, multicentre trial.
Overall satisfaction with treatment, satisfactory relief on a weekly basis, reflux symptoms, and treatment preferences were noted.
Results: Seventy-seven patients were included in the analyses. Eso20 was significantly superior to PRA for proportion of overall satisfied patients (92% and 58% respectively; p=0.001), reduction of symptoms (mean symptom scores at the end 5.9 and 8.0 respectively; p=0.019), proportion of weeks of satisfactory relief (89% and 62% respectively; p=0.008) and proportion preferring continuation with the same treatment (85% and 42% respectively; p<0.001).
Older patients were more satisfied than younger, and patients preferring on-demand treatment had lower symptom scores at inclusion than those preferring regular treatment.
Conclusions: On-demand treatment with esomeprazole 20 mg was clearly superior to the pectin-based raft-forming agent.
Most patients preferred on-demand treatment to regular treatment. Those preferring regular therapy had significantly more symptoms at inclusion.Trial registration.
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00184522.
Author: Per G Farup, Mathis Heibert and Victor Hoeg
Credits/Source: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2009, 9:3
Published on: 2009-02-24
Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access). Please
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