A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found patients receiving gastric acid suppressants may be at an increased risk for recurrent Clostridium difficile infections.
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic researcher Raseen Tariq, MBBS, led a meta-analysis of 16 studies comprising 7,703 patients examining gastric acid suppressants' use and how it affected C. diff infections.
Here's what she found.
1. Of the total patient base, 1,525 patients developed recurrent CDI.
2. Approximately 22.1 percent gastric acid suppression patients developed recurrent CDI compared to 17.3 percent who developed CDI without gastric acid suppression.
3. A subgroup analyses of studies adjusting for age and confounders confirmed an increased infection risk with gastric acid suppressant use.
Researchers concluded, "Meta-analyses of observational studies suggest that patients who receive gastric acid suppressants may be at increased risk for recurrent CDI." However, the researchers cautioned that the data should be cautiously interpreted because the studies "may be confounded owing to the observational design of the individual studies."