Healthcare

In infants with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms, using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are dramatically increased recently. However, the effectiveness and safety of this treatment still debatable.

Due to this, the investigators from Amsterdam investigated studies archived in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, related to use of PPIs in GERD’s children aged 0 to 18 years.

They looked at for randomized controlled trials and crossover studies investigating the efficacy and safety of PPIs for the outcomes including reduction in GERD symptoms, gastric pH, histologic abnormalities, and adverse events.

As the results, related to GERD symptoms, the investigators found 1 study showed PPIs effective treatment among infants, 2 studies ineffective, and 2 studies had similar effective with placebo.
In total, they found 12 studies related to PPIs use from aged 0 to 17 years.

The better effective than placebo of PPIs is related to gastric acidity in infants and children that found in 4 studies, including when compared to alginates or ranitidine.

Overall, reported in Pediatric on April 4, 2011, the study authors, Rachel J. Van der Pol, MD, from the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Emma Children’s Hospital AMC in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues said that PPIs not effective treatment for infant with the symptoms of GERD.

The authors write, “PPIs are not effective in reducing GERD symptoms in infants.” Therefore, they add, “Physician should be careful when prescribing PPIs, medications that are not approved for infants and have potential adverse effects, unless there is documented disease or with careful monitoring.”