14% of candidates passed this question.

These agents are both commonly used in the ICU. The expectation was weighted towards the interesting and important aspects of pharmacology as outlined for category B drugs. It was expected candidates could detail that both drugs are used to suppress acid secretion in the stomach. Ranitidine is a competitive, reversible inhibitor of the action of histamine at the histamine H2 receptors found in gastric parietal cells. This results in decreased gastric acid secretion and gastric volume, and reduced hydrogen ion concentration.

In contrast to Omeprazole which is a proton pump inhibitor that irreversibly blocks the hydrogen potassium ATPase the gastric parietal cells.

Some general description of dosing, route of administration, pharmacokinetics and possible adverse effects was expected.