Effect of bolus injection and continuous infusion of somatostatin on gastric perfusion in cirrhotic patients with portal-hypertensive gastropathy

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Somatostatin, published as a randomized controlled trial.

This phenomenon may contribute to gastric bleeding from these lesions.

Changes in the hemoglobin content of the gastric mucosa paralleled those of laser-Doppler signal.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 36 patients were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, both men and women.

In this study, gastric mucosal perfusion was assessed, by means of laser-Doppler flowmetry and reflectance spectrophotometry, in 36 cirrhotic patients with portal-hypertensive gastropathy in basal conditions and after double-blind administration of placebo or somatostatin.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel-group study.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the Somatostatin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the patients and researchers unaware of who received Somatostatin.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Somatostatin could be set against what happens without it.

Groups ran in parallel: each of the patients stayed in one arm throughout.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Fibrosis, Gastric Mucosa, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage, Hemoglobins, Hypertension, Portal, Laser-Doppler Flowmetry and Oxygen.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Somatostatin in 36 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1994 (Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Somatostatin compound page, all human trials.