Article was inconsistent

EDITOR—Gøtzsche's review on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs contains some inconsistencies that we would like to highlight.1 In the summary section on interventions Gøtzsche states that H₂ blockers are likely to be beneficial in high risk patients who cannot avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, albeit to a lesser extent than omeprazole. This statement is misleading and contradicts the clinical evidence presented later in the review.

The author describes two randomised controlled trials comparing ranitidine with omeprazole2 and misoprostol.3 The results of these trials showed that ranitidine was inferior to both of these drugs in reducing ulcers induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory …