Is mucaine an appropriate medication for the relief of heartburn during pregnancy?

Abstract

A double blind comparative study comparing Mucaine, Mucaine without oxethazaine, and placebo was carried out with 50 patients with symptoms of heartburn during late pregnancy. We found that the 2 active treatments were more effective than placebo for the relief of heartburn, but there was no statistically significant difference between groups for the relief of nausea and regurgitation. There was a significant difference in the percentage of days of use of each medication, with the placebo being used least frequently. Although not statistically significant, for the 3 measures for which placebo differed from the active treatments, patients showed a better response to mucaine. This suggests that the addition of oxethazaine may be of benefit. The lack of statistical significance may be due to the relatively small number of cases, and the findings are promising. No side effects were recorded for any treatment.