A Multicenter,Randomized, Double-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Trial of High-Dose Rebamipide Treatment for Low-Dose Aspirin-Induced Moderate-to-Severe Small Intestinal Damage |
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| Authors: | Toshio Watanabe Toshihisa Takeuchi Osamu Handa Yasuhisa Sakata Tetsuya Tanigawa Masatsugu Shiba Yuji Naito Kazuhide Higuchi Kazuma Fujimoto Toshikazu Yoshikawa Tetsuo Arakawa |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.; 2. Second Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Medical College, Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan.; 3. Department of Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.; 4. Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Saga Medical School, Saga, Japan.; University Hospital Llandough, UNITED KINGDOM, |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundLow-dose aspirin (LDA) frequently causes small bowel injury. While some drugs have been reported to be effective in treating LDA-induced small intestinal damage, most studies did not exclude patients with mild damage thought to be clinically insignificant.AimWe conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a high dose of rebamipide, a gastroprotective drug, for LDA-induced moderate-to-severe enteropathy.MethodsWe enrolled patients who received 100 mg of enteric-coated aspirin daily for more than 3 months and were found to have more than 3 mucosal breaks (i.e., erosions or ulcers) in the small intestine by capsule endoscopy. Eligible patients were assigned to receive either rebamipide 300 mg (triple dose) 3 times daily or placebo for 8 weeks in a 2:1 ratio. Capsule endoscopy was then repeated. The primary endpoint was the change in the number of mucosal breaks from baseline to 8 weeks. Secondary endpoints included the complete healing of mucosal breaks at 8 weeks and the change in Lewis score (an endoscopic score assessing damage severity) from baseline to 8 weeks.ResultsThe study was completed by 38 patients (rebamipide group: n = 25, placebo group: n = 13). After 8 weeks of treatment, rebamipide, but not placebo, significantly decreased the number of mucosal breaks (p = 0.046). While the difference was not significant (p = 0.13), the rate of complete mucosal break healing in the rebamipide group (32%, 8 of 25) tended to be higher than that in the placebo group (7.7%, 1 of 13). Rebamipide treatment significantly improved intestinal damage severity as assessed by the Lewis score (p = 0.02), whereas placebo did not. The triple dose of rebamipide was well tolerated.ConclusionsHigh-dose rebamipide is effective for the treatment of LDA-induced moderate-to-severe enteropathy.Trial RegistrationUMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000003463 |
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