Nexium, Zantac, Other Heartburn Drugs Increase Risk of Pneumonia: Study
Heartburn drugs like Nexium, Prilosec and Zantac may be linked to an increased risk of pneumonia, according to the findings of a new study conducted by South Korean researchers.
The heartburn drug study was an attempt to correlate data collected throughout the years on whether the drugs affected the risk of catching pneumonia. The researchers said that studies to date have been inconclusive, with some studies finding a connection and others not.
Researchers in this latest effort collected data from 31 studies conducted on the topic throughout the years. When they looked at all of the data collected so far, they found that there was a 27% higher risk of pneumonia for people using a class of heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors that includes Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid, and there was a 22% increased risk for people using histamine-2 receptor antagonists, like Zantac, Protonix and Pepsid. The numbers were the same for both hospital-acquired pneumonia and community-acquired pneumonia.
The researchers cautioned that the risk was relatively small. For individuals who were not on a heartburn drug, about 20 out of 1,000 contract hospital-acquired pneumonia, compared with about 25 out of 1,000 patients who were on a heartburn drug.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a common risk for critically ill patients, particularly those on ventilators. Contraction of pneumonia puts critically ill patients at a 20 to 30 percent risk of death, and can increase a patient’s hospital stay by seven to nine days, potentially exposing them to other complications. Pneumonia usually occurs because stomach secretions have entered the lungs.
While the study shows an increased risk of pneumonia when using heartburn drugs, the researchers said that their findings are not proof that the increased pneumonia risk is due to Zantac or Nexium side effects. They said that it is possible that chronic acid reflux could be causing cases of pneumonia when acid from the stomach gets into the lungs. Such patients would likely be on heartburn drugs to control their acid reflux.
They concluded that until more could be learned about the causal link, or the link could be disproven, doctors should be careful when prescribing heartburn drugs, particularly to patients who are already at higher risk of pneumonia. Patients should discuss the benefits and risks of such drugs with their doctors, they recommended.
5 comments
started omeprazole sub for prilosec about 4-5 months ago. had walking pneumonia in november 2010 and I’m still suffering from clostridum difficlee a disease associated with the treatment of the pheumonia.
30 dec 2010.
I have been on nexium 40 mg twice a day for about three years now and i have had pnemonia for three years now three to four times a year also i took it when i was pregnant and my daughter suffered from pnemnia for the first two year like every other mnonth
have you had a pnemovax vacination against pnemonia? i usted to get walking pnemonia around nov every year until i receivied my vacination that was back around 2000. check with your doctor. i hope this helps at least one of you good floks good luck larry
Just wondering, if zantac taken while pregnant can cause unexplained hearing loss, tubes in ears, learning disabilities, jaundice, lack of cerfaxtin and more? This is related to my son being born with these unexplained disabilities. Thank you. Note: hearing loss is not in either side of my child’s family.
i have been on zantac 9 or10 yrs,just had 2 biopses on my stomach,doc tors said scare tissue,taking to many zantac