Is there danger in prolonged use of omeprazole?

By Dr. Acosta Then

What are the dangers of prolonged use of omeprazole? This medicine has been tested since 1980.

It is indicated by a family doctor or an internist or gastroenterologist to treat pathologies of the digestive system. Currently, it has become commonly used and we can find it in the home medicine cabinet, along with others.

Omeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor. That is, it seeks to reduce the secretion of hydrochloric acid, which is the juice that allows the digestion of food.

By inhibiting it, it produces an alkaline environment and digestive symptoms improve, which helps the healing of lesions such as gastritis, ulcers and others. What is currently happening?

Prolonged use —or use not prescribed by a doctor— can cause complications such as the development of polyps, tissue changes, and poor absorp- tion of vitamin B12. There is also evidence of cancer, but it is still under study.

Recent research from the University of California, San Diego revealed that excessive use of proton pump inhibitor drugs increases the chances of kidney damage, through chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, end-stage renal disease or unspecified renal impairment.

Recently, another new and worrisome consequence has been detected: acute tubulointerstitial nephritis, a kidney disorder that can lead to kidney failure.This warning about its side effects has been reported in a safety information bulletin, prepared by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products.

We always recommend that all patients with symptoms of reflux, heartburn, bloating or dissatisfied irritable bowel syndrome, go to the doctor’s office to have it prescribed. You should never resort to self-medication, because this practice leads to long-term complications.

* Dr. Acosta Then is a bariatric endoscopist, director of the Salutte Clinic Obesity and Specialties Clinic, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. She belongs to the US Bariatric Endoscopy Society and directs the “Happy Weight Without Surgery” program.