The results of previous studies evaluating the effect of four liquid formulations of proton-pump inhibitors on 24-hour intragastric pH are described. Patients with a gastrostomy who were resident in a Veterans Affairs medical center or its affiliated nursing home were eligible for enrollment in one of four open-label studies in which each patient served as his own control. Patients underwent 24-hour intragastric pH studies before and after receiving seven consecutive days of one of the following liquid formulations of a proton-pump inhibitor administered once daily: omeprazole granules 20 mg in orange juice, lansoprazole granules 30 mg in orange juice, simplified omeprazole suspension 20 mg, and simplified lansoprazole suspension 30 mg. The suspensions were prepared with 10 mL of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate solution. Mean intragastric pH was measured, as was the time pH stayed above 3.0 and 4.0 during the 24-hour period. Six to 14 patients participated in each study. The mean posttreatment pH was 4.9+/-0.8, 4.7+/-0.6, 4.1+/-1.5, and 5.1+/-1.1 for omeprazole granules in orange juice, lansoprazole granules in orange juice, simplified omeprazole suspension, and simplified lansoprazole suspension, respectively. Both drugs in orange juice maintained pH above 4.0 longer than 14 hours and above 3.0 for close to 20 hours, which are the levels deemed optimal for healing erosive esophagitis and duodenal ulcers, respectively. Simplified lansoprazole suspension maintained pH above those thresholds for the optimal times, but simplified omeprazole suspension did not (20 and 15 hr above 3.0, 17 and 12 hr above 4.0 for lansoprazole and omeprazole, respectively). Further development of liquid formulations of proton-pump inhibitors may have important implications for the treatment of acid-related diseases in patients, including children, who are unable to swallow capsules.