The association between gastric acid inhibitors and delirium in geriatric inpatients: implications for clinical practice and research

Abstract

Ling-ling Zhu,1 Quan Zhou2 1VIP Care Ward, Division of Nursing, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of ChinaWe read with great interest the prospective observational study by Otremba et al,1 which shows that use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) is one of independent factors associated with development of delirium in geriatric inpatients (odds ratio [OR] =1.67; confidence interval [CI] =1.11–2.53; P=0.014). We especially appreciate their new finding, because PPIs are commonly prescribed in older hospitalized patients. However, we found two points worthy of discussion and we would like to share our perspectives in the following paragraphs.View original paper by Otremba and colleagues.

Keywords

• adverse drug reaction
• delirium
• drug interaction
• gastric acid inhibitors
• histamine-2 receptor antagonists
• proton pump inhibitors