Omeprazole safety: is the duration of the treatments suitable?

Introduction: Omeprazole is one of the most prescribed drugs in the Spanish National Health System. Its safety profile is considered to be good, nevertheless there are different adverse reactions described in the summary of product characteristics, some of them, although somewhat rare or very rare, are considered serious. Clinical evidence and recent studies have shown a relationship between continued use of omeprazole and other adverse events.

Objectives: To find out how much of the treated population exceeds the duration of treatment, as stated in the Summary of Product Characteristics, for the treatment of reflux esophagitis and what proportion of this population may present potential risk of suffering any adverse reaction in circumstances that they were detected

Patients and methods: Multicenter observational study whose data collection was performed in 27 community pharmacies located in 24 towns in the province of Badajoz using a structured questionnaire with five questions related to the use of omeprazole.

Results: 60% of the patients studied amply exceed the treatment time to treat gastroesophageal reflux according to the summary of product characteristics. The 39% was in elderly population. The 4.5% of elderly patients who taking omeprazole on high doses for a long period of time (over one year), circumstances that make them more vulnerable to suffer any adverse reactions described.