Are drug combination of PPIs and Plavix safe?
Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by admin in Health
Many Americans take drugs such as Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium, to get some comfort from their reflux disease. Are these meds safe at all or increase risk for other medical conditions in the users?
Experts beg to differ though in their opinion regarding the potential risks that these very popular prescription meds have on the users.
The acid reflux meds fall in the PPI category of drugs otherwise known as proton pump inhibitors. These are considered pretty safe on humans. However, the meds have been subject of interest for researchers and many studies show correlation of their usage to health risks ranging from increase in hip fracture to diarrhea to community-acquired pneumonia.
According to Dr. Kenneth W. Altman, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYC, the scientific literature about the PPIs raises doubts which call for more follow up study, as in how the metabolism of proton pump inhibitors affects concentration of other drugs in the blood which are metabolized in the liver.
When stomach acid goes up to throat it is called laryngopharyngeal reflux. PPIs are prescribed to treat this condition. During 2008, PPIs were the third largest selling meds in the US. They were also the 6th most largely dispensed prescription meds.
PPIs interact with blood thinning med Plavix; and according to one study the drug increases heart attack risk and angina.
These findings call for follow up studies and concurrent conclusive evidence to prove adverse drug combination reactions between PPIs and Plavix.
