Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, are a popular group of medications used to treat heartburn. Unfortunately, a recent study has linked prescription PPI use to a 25 percent increased risk of early death. The key takeaways from the study are explained below. If you or a loved one has been harmed by taking PPIs prescribed by a doctor, contact the Cincinnati defective drug lawyers of O’Connor, Acciani & Levy to determine if you have legal options.
Findings From The Study
The PPI study evaluated patient medical information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, examining records of PPI patients as well as patients taking H2 blockers, another class of medications commonly used to treat heartburn. They analyzed data on 275,933 people who were prescribed a PPI and 73,355 who were prescribed an H2 blocker. Researchers found that patients taking PPIs had a 25 percent increased risk of early death from any cause compared to patients taking H2 blockers. The early death risk increased the longer a patient was treated with PPIs. The same increased risk of early death was found in PPI users when compared to patients not consuming H2 blockers. Despite this risk, those taking PPIs should not stop taking them unless they are advised to do so by their doctor. Researchers noted that further research is needed to determine all of the risks of these medications and the severity of those risks. The study was conducted by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and published in the online journal British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open. One of the shortcomings of the study is that it only examined prescription PPI use. Some PPIs are available over-the-counter without a prescription. AstraZeneca, manufacturer of prescription and over-the-counter PPI brands Nexium and Prilosec, is confident in the safety and efficacy of its PPI medications when they are used according to instructions on U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling, according to a spokeswoman.Past Studies On Ppis
Previous studies have shown that patients treated with PPIs were at a greater risk of the following health problems:- Cardiovascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease or acute kidney injury
- Pneumonia
- Dementia
- Fractures
- Stomach infections
