Proton pump inhibitor use not linked to cardiac arrhythmia

(HealthDay)—In critically ill patients, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use is not associated with cardiac arrhythmia, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Kenneth P. Chen, M.D., from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues examined whether PPI exposure correlated with admission electrocardiogram readings of a cardiac arrhythmia in a study involving more than 8,000 critically ill patients.

Within the cohort there were 25.4 percent PPI users and 6 percent taking a histamine 2 antagonist. Of the patients, 14.0 percent had a cardiac arrhythmia. The researchers found that the risk of arrhythmia in association with PPI use was 1.15 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.32; P = 0.04) in unadjusted analyses and 0.91 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.06; P = 0.22) in adjusted analyses. PPI use was not associated with increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia among diuretic users (2,476 patients).

"In summary, in a large cohort of critically ill patients, PPI exposure is not associated with an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia," the authors write.

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