• 12
  • February
    2012

In the movie "Juno," the title character describes her heartburn as "radiating down to my kneecaps." Anyone who has suffered severe heartburn can likely relate to this seemingly hyperbolic statement.

Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently indicated that taking drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPI) to relieve heartburn symptoms may elevate a patient's risk for developing a potentially fatal bacterial infection.

A staggering number of Americans turn to PPIs for relief. In 2010, PPIs ranked third in terms of sales among all classes of pharmaceuticals. Patients ingest PPIs in order to reduce their stomach acid and subsequently their heartburn or stomach ulcer-related symptoms.

While reductions in stomach acid may make a patient feel better, PPIs can ultimately provide too much of a good thing. Stomach acid functions not only to aid in digestion but also to kill pathogens which have entered the body. Suppression of stomach acid leads to a reduction in the body's capability to kill bacterial invaders.

Specifically, the FDA is now warning patients taking PPIs that they may be at a higher-than-normal risk for developing a serious bacterial infection in the intestines known as C. diff. Patients fighting C. diff may develop a condition known as Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, characterized by diarrhea that fails to improve.

C. diff infections are easily spread and can be fatal. Therefore, it has been advised that those who take PPIs such as Nexium, Prevacid or Prilosec and develop diarrhea which won't resolve itself should alert their physicians to their condition.

Source: Fox News, "Stomach acid drugs increase risk of bacterial infections, FDA warns," Feb. 8, 2012