Acid Reflux Drugs Linked to Increased Fracture Risk in Kids

Proton pump inhibitors – a widely used class of drugs used to treat acid reflux and related symptoms – may lead to an increased risk of fractures in children and adolescents, reports a study in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (JPGN). Official journal of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) and the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, JPGN is published by Wolters Kluwer.

Program reduces narcotic prescriptions after surgery with over-the-counter pain medicine

Surgeons at Houston Methodist Hospital are stemming the tide of addiction to prescription opioids by managing patients’ pain after surgery. By using long-acting local anesthetics at the site of surgery and scheduled non-narcotic pain medicine, they decreased opioid prescriptions from 87% to 10% after surgery.

New Research Could Change Clinical Practice for Cases of Unmanaged Heartburn

A study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine found that in patients seen for heartburn unresponsive to treatment with Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs), an extensive, systematic workup revealed truly PPI-refractory and reflux-related heartburn in only a minority of cases. In other words, most patients with heartburn unrelieved by PPIs did not have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) causing the symptom. Furthermore, for the selected subgroup identified as having reflux-related, PPI-refractory heartburn, surgery that corrects reflux was significantly superior (67% success rate) to continued medical therapy (28% success rate).