SELF-MEDICATION WITH PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS
Keywords:
PPI self-medication, over-the-counter PPIs (OTC), rebound acid hypersecretion (RAHS), long-term use risks, inappropriate use, chronic kidney disease (CKD), malabsorption (B12/magnesium), C. difficile infection, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), gastritis.Abstract
Self-medication with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is frequently practiced in many populations and commonly reported by patients with gastrointestinal (GI) complaints. Numerous studies worldwide reveal a high prevalence of such self-medication, even with prescription-only PPIs, while little is known about the gastrointestinal outcomes associated with PPI self-use. The present study sought to delineate these outcomes and identify the self-medication practices related to them.
Various self-medication strategies have been identified, allowing for comprehensive comparison across studies. Patterns of PPI self-use are especially concerning among the younger and more economically privileged populations of the Global North, as well as among the impoverished and marginalised communities of the Global South. The use of self-diagnosis criteria, self-diagnostic related comfort thresholds, and alternative access routes for self-medication are also widespread. Some specific factors are regularly recorded, including ongoing circumstances before initiating self-medication and the symptom output that motivates it, yet individual asymptomatic time and health-seeking attempts before PPI use go largely unreported.
