ACID BLOCKING "purple pill" type MEDICATIONS OVERUSED PATIENTS PAY THE PRICE WITH THEIR LIVES

Let me state this plainly. Acid blocking "proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid and Aciphex are bad news. They were originally approved only for limited time use (6 weeks) for stomach ulcers and long term use for a rare tumor that secretes large amounts of stomach acid.

Now they're doled out like candy to the tune of 5 billion dollars or more in this country for a wide variety of digestive complaints.

A recent study published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association (May 27, 2009) looked at the connection between the use of
PPIs and the risk of hospital acquired pneumonia.

The study looked at 63,878 admissions. The use of acid blockers was associated with a 30% risk of pneumonia in the hospital. Here's the meat of the article. You couldn't make this up:

Estimating that exposure to these medications increases risk of developing Hospital-acquired pneumonia by 30% . . . with an overall rate of 3.5% and an exposure rate of 52% this suggests an attributable risk of 0.9%, a number needed to harm of 111, and an excess of more than 180,000 cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia that could be attributed to acid- suppressive medication use. With an estimated mortality rate of 18% for hospital acquired pneumonia, exposure to these medications could result in 33,000 preventable deaths annually. (p 2126).

That's over 90 unnecessary deaths a day, due to the promiscuous use of these obviously dangerous medications, "despite the use lack on an accepted indication in the majority of these patients". (page 2120)

Here's a list of other problems with the medications, to which most doctors appear to remain oblivious:

• Increased risk of osteoporosis, which is probably due to the reduced absorption of calcium. Calcium requires an acid environment for proper absorption.
• Small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO), an imbalance of bacteria in the small bowel which can disturb normal digestion and promote immune system dysfunction and inflammation.

Malabsorption of other important minerals, including zinc, iron and magnesium.

In fact, most cases of heartburn are caused by motility problems, which means food doesn't move at a normal rate from the stomach into the small intestine.
Here's why:

When the stress response system is turned on in our bodies, digestion is suppressed. The body diverts energy away from digestion to handle other needs. Food remains in the stomach and begins to rot in the warm, moist environment. Decaying food sits in the stomach and stomach acid backs up into the esophagus; we call this gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although acid blocking PPIs may make the heartburn of GERD better, they can make the underlying problem worse.

I'll discuss GERD and safer non-drug solutions to this common problem in an upcoming issue. In the meantime, you might think twice before starting one of these dubious drugs.

Alan Inglis MD
American Country Doctor