Summary
74 cirrhotic patients with a history of variceal or gastric bleeding were randomly assigned to treatment with propranolol (40 to 360 mg/day) or placebo. The patients were all in good condition and doses of propranolol were titrated until a 25% reduction in heart rate was achieved.
After 2 years, the cumulative percentage of patients free from rebleeding was significantly greater among the patients receiving propranolol (79%) than in the placebo group (32%; p<0.0001). Similarly, the percentage of surviving patients was significantly greater with propranolol (90%) than with placebo (57%; p<0.02) after 2 years.
It was concluded that in cirrhotic patients in good condition, propranolol reduced both the risk of recurrent gastrointestinal haemorrhage and the mortality rate during a 2-year period of continuous administration of the drug.
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Lebrec, D., Poynard, T., Bernuau, J. et al. A Randomised Controlled Study of Propranolol for Prevention of Recurrent Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients with Cirrhosis. Drugs 37 (Suppl 2), 30–34 (1989). https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198900372-00006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198900372-00006