The American journal of the medical sciences
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparison of 24 vs 72-hour octreotide infusion in acute esophageal variceal hemorrhage - a multi-center, randomized clinical trial.
Current guidelines lack clarity about the optimal duration of octreotide therapy for patients with esophageal variceal hemorrhage (EVH). To address this lack of evidence, we conducted a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of 24-hr versus 72-hr continuous infusion of octreotide for patients with EVH. ⋯ A 24-hr infusion is non-inferior to a 72-hr infusion of octreotide for prevention of re-bleeding in patients with EVH. We propose that shortened octreotide duration may help reduce hospital stay and related costs in these patients.