Comparison of the effects of single morning and single bedtime doses of famotidine on intragastric acidity in patients with gastric ulcer.

The effects of single morning and single bedtime doses of famotidine on intragastric acidity were studied by 24-h intragastric pH monitoring in 16 patients with gastric ulcer. The patients were randomly allocated to the following regimen: one group (n = 8) received 40 mg famotidine at 8:30 AM and another group (n = 8) received the same dose at 10 PM. The morning group showed significant inhibition of gastric acidity during the 24-h and daytime measurements, compared to those of the bedtime group (p < 0.05 in 24 h, p < 0.01 in daytime). Conversely, the bedtime group showed a significant inhibition of gastric acidity during the nocturnal period compared to the morning group (p < 0.01). These results indicate that the relative importance of suppression of gastric acidity on the gastric ulcer healing process should be evaluated in a clinical trial.