Propantheline bromide in massive upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage.

The effectiveness of the anticholinergic, propantheline bromide, administered parenterally in patients with upper gastro-intestinal bleeding has been investigated in a double-blind study. The basic material consisted of 99 patients. No differences were found between the group receiving propantheline bromide and the group receiving placebo in regard to clinical factors such as duration of intensive care, total hospital stay and surgical frequency. However, 21 patients under 50 years of age showed a significantly lower blood transfusion requirement with the use of propantheline bromide.