Comparison of Intra-Venus Ranitidine with Pantoprazole in Patients with Epigastric Pain Referring to Emergency Department

Background and aim: Epigastric pain episodes are one of the most common complaints of patients referring to the emergency departments worldwide. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of ranitidine and pantoprazole on epigastric pain in the emergency department. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial (RCT) study was performed on 100 patients (50 patients in each study arm) with epigastric pain complaints referred to emergency department of Imam Khomeini Educational Hospital in Sari in 2017. Patients older than 18 years of age with an epigastric pain with early diagnosis of dyspepsia and a visual acuity score of 20 mm high (VAS) were included. Patients were enrolled in two treatment groups: single venous dose of pantoprazole 40 mg and single dose of ranitidine 50 mg. The pain score was recorded 30 and 60 minutes after the intervention. Results: The findings showed that in the pantoprazole group: 9.4% dyspepsia and 37.5% pancreatitis and 12.5% gastroenteritis and 40.6% asymptomatic. Before the intervention, the pain group had a pain score of 10.8 and 8.16 in the pantoprazole group. There were no differences between the two groups (P = 0.888), but after treatment, significant difference were observed in each of the groups after the use (P<0.001). Also, the comparison of the two groups after treatment showed that there was a significant difference in pain severity between the two treatment groups (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study have revealed that Ranitidine and Pantoprazole effectively improve initial epigastric pain, but ranitidine is more effective.