CONTROLLED TRIAL OF HYPNOTHERAPY IN RELAPSE PREVENTION OF DUODENAL ULCERATION

30 patients with rapidly relapsing duodenal ulceration were studied to assess the possible benefit of hypnotherapy in relapse prevention. After the ulcer had healed on treatment with ranitidine, the drug was continued for a further 10 weeks during which time patients received either hypnotherapy or no hypnotherapy. The two randomly selected groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption. Follow-up of both groups of patients was continued for 12 months after the cessation of ranitidine. After 1 year, 8 (53%) of the hynotherapy patients and 15 (100%) of the control subjects had relapsed. The results of this study suggest that hypnotherapy may be a useful therapeutic adjunct for some patients with chronic recurrent duodenal ulceration.