Sucralfate gel versus sucralfate granules in the treatment of upper gastrointestinal lesions. A randomized controlled study.

Thirthy-three consecutive outpatients (16 men and 17 women, aged 20 to 65 years) with peptic lesions of the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagitis, gastritis, duodenitis, or peptic ulcer) were randomized to receive a six-week treatment with sucralfate, 1 gm four times a day as 20% gel (18 cases) or the granular formulation (15 cases). Clinical, serologic, endoscopic, and histologic data were obtained at entry and at the end of treatment. clinical cure or amelioration was observed in 16 of the 17 symptomatic patients treated with gel, with endoscopic healing in 14; nine of the 11 who completed treatment with the granular formation had improved Clinical and endoscopic pictures. The final histologic pattern did not differ significantly from baseline. Tolerability and effectiveness in terms of symptoms and healing of endoscopic lesions were similar for the two formulations tested.