Use of proton pump inhibitors, whichhave medications used to suppress stomach acid, can increase the risk of Clostridium difficile infections,especially when combined with antibiotics, a new study finds.
Investigators analyzeddata from 42 observational studies with a total of 313,000 participants. Datafrom 39 of those studies showed that use of PPIs, which includes medicationssuch as Prilosec and Nexium, was linked to a significantly higher risk of c. diff, and three studies showed a higherrisk of recurrent infections with PPIs. Additionally, concurrent use of PPIsand antibiotics had an even higher risk for c.diff, according to the study.
C. diff is characterized by severediarrhea and can be deadly in elderly nursing home residents.
“Forpatients who have suffered C. difficilediarrhea, we recommend that they come off the PPIs either temporarily or evenpermanently so that there is less chance of the diarrhea coming back,”Norwich Medical School’s Yoon Kong Loke, M.D., told Reuters.
The study was published recently in The American Journal ofGastroenterology.
