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Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H2 receptor antagonists may play an important role on the onset of Clostridium difficile-associated disease in adults.
The impact of C. difficile on children treated with gastric acid-suppressing agents remains unknown.
Dr Turco and colleagues from Italy investigated the relationship between C. difficile-associated disease and exposure to acid suppressive therapy in hospitalized pediatric patients.
The team reviewed the medical records of children, with a diagnosis of protracted diarrhea and abdominal pain, whose stool was analysed for C. difficile toxins.
 | | PPI use was higher in the C. difficile positive group | | Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics |
The research team identified 68 patients with C. difficile-associated disease.
For each patient, the team randomly selected a control subjects with stool analysis negative for C. difficile.
Comorbid illnesses, previous hospitalizations, antibiotics, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and gastric acid suppressing exposures were recorded.
The researchers found that the use of proton pump inhibitor was significantly higher in C. difficile-positive group compared with C. difficile-negative group.
The research team also found a trend for the use of H2 receptor antagonists in patients infected by C. difficile compared with C. difficile-negative comparison group.
Dr Turco's team concluded, “Children exposed to Proton pump inhibitors therapy seem to be at higher risk for the development of C. difficile-associated disease.”
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