Relationship between esomeprazole dose and timing to heartburn resolution in selected patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Abstract

Roy C Orlando1, Sherry Liu2, Marta Illueca31Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, 2Department of Statistics and Informatics, 3Department of Clinical Development, AstraZeneca LP, Wilmington, DE, USAObjective: To increase response rates to therapy by increasing the dosage of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) whose symptoms are predominantly associated with acid reflux.Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, proof-of-concept study, 369 patients with GERD and moderate heartburn lasting ≥three days/week, a history of response to antacids/acid suppression therapy, and a positive esophageal acid perfusion test result were randomized to esomeprazole 20 or 40 mg once daily, or to 40 mg twice daily for four weeks. Heartburn symptom relief/resolution was subsequently evaluated.Results: In this study population, no relationship was apparent between esomeprazole dosage and efficacy variables for sustained heartburn resolution (seven days without symptoms) at week 4 (48.0%, 44.0%, and 41.4% for esomeprazole 20 mg once daily, 40 mg once daily, and 40 mg twice daily, respectively). Nocturnal heartburn resolution with esomeprazole 40 mg twice daily showed a numeric improvement trend versus esomeprazole 20 and 40 mg once daily, but this was not statistically significant.Conclusions: Heartburn resolution rates at four weeks were similar for all esomeprazole dosages and comparable with rates reported previously, suggesting a plateau effect in terms of clinical response to acid suppression with PPI therapy in this population of selected GERD patients.Keywords: acid suppressive therapy, GERD, proton pump inhibitor