Ranitidine

Ranitidine is a commonly used drug, classified as a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, and belongs to the same drug class as cimetidine and famotidine. This drug helps to prevent and treat gastric-acid associated conditions, including ulcers, because of its ability to decrease gastric acid secretion. Ranitidine is often referred to as Zantac, and is available in various forms, including tablet, injection, and effervescent tablet preparations.

The prevalence of GERD is thought to be 10-20% in western countries. Ranitidine has proven to be an effective treatment for relieving uncomfortable symptoms of gastric acid associated conditions and is therefore widely used in GERD and other gastric-acid related conditions.

This drug is used alone or with concomitant antacids for the following conditions: short-term treatment of active duodenal ulcer, treating gastric acid hypersecretion due to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, systemic mastocytosis, and other conditions that may pathologically raise gastric acid levels. It also used in the short term treatment of active benign gastric ulcers and maintenance therapy of gastric ulcers at a reduced dose. In addition to the above, ranitidine can be used for the treatment of GERD symptoms, treatment of erosive esophagitis (endoscopically diagnosed) and the maintenance of gastric or duodenal ulcer healing.