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Ask the Pharmacist By Ron and Marla Chapleau |
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Q) I’ve heard that some stomach medications can increase my risk of an infection. Is this true? A) The group of stomach medicines known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) is one of the most commonly-prescribed classes of drugs in North America. Its members include Nexium (esomeprazole), Losec (omeprazole), Prevacid (lansoprazole), Pariet (rabeprazole) and Pantoloc (pantoprazole). They are used to treat a wide variety of digestive problems ranging from mild heartburn and gas up to serious conditions such as bleeding ulcers and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. While they are still considered a very safe family of drugs, it has come to the attention of researchers that these medicines may have more adverse effects than originally thought and this has caused some physicians to rethink their prescribing habits. In a previous article, we discussed that the PPIs may be associated with an increased risk of fractures of the spine, forearm and wrist when they are used for a prolonged period. Now a new study of 100,000 patients at a medical centre in Boston found that patients taking a PPI had a 74 per cent greater risk of acquiring Clostridium difficile, a severe and difficult-to-treat intestinal infection. Another study involving a further 1,200 patients, who had previously been treated for C. difficile, found that those patients taking a PPI had a 42 per cent increased risk of this potentially life-threatening infection reoccurring. The hypothesis is that the drugs lower the acidity in the stomach which is one of the many defences our bodies employ to prevent harmful bacteria from flourishing.
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Researchers say that these drugs are too often used for mild conditions such as indigestion and heartburn that could be effectively treated by other drugs that appear to have less potential to harm us, such as H2-Antagonists (Zantac/ranitidine, Pepcid/famotidine) or antacids (Maalox, Tums, etc.). Researchers also feel that not all patients need to stay on these drugs for as long as they tend to. They don’t recommend stopping these drugs without first consulting with your physician as there are many people who need to stay on these to maintain their optimum health.
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