Maintenance treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease: an evaluation of continuous and on-demand therapy with rabeprazole 20 mg.

Objective: To evaluate continuous therapy (COT) and on-demand therapy (ODT) with rabeprazole 20 mg for maintenance in uninvestigated gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Methods: This randomized, open-label study enrolled 331 GERD (heartburn-predominant) patients with a pre-existing proton pump inhibitor history of one month or longer, to an acute four-week trial with 20 mg rabeprazole daily for heartburn management. Patients who achieved satisfactory heartburn control during the acute phase (three days or less of heartburn, with no more than one episode rated as moderate, and heartburn rated satisfactorily or completely controlled with minimal rescue antacid use in the seven days preceding randomization) were randomly assigned to six months of rabeprazole 20 mg given as either daily COT or daily ODT, which was initiated upon symptom recurrence and stopped upon symptom resolution.

Preference for and satisfaction of Canadian women with the transdermal contraceptive patch versus previous contraceptive method: an open-label, multicentre study.

Objective: To document Canadian women's experience with the transdermal contraceptive patch, a method delivering 150 microg norelgestromin and 20 microg ethinyl estradiol daily.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, multicentre, descriptive cohort study of the contraceptive patch over 9 cycles in 392 women requiring contraception. A single treatment cycle consisted of 3 consecutive 7-day patch applications followed by 1 patch-free week.