Use of proton pump inhibitors is associated with increased mortality due to nosocomial pneumonia in bedridden patients receiving tube feeding.

Aim: To investigate the association between the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and nosocomial pneumonia and gastrointestinal bleeding in bedridden patients receiving tube feeding.
Methods: A total of 116 bedridden hospitalized patients receiving tube feeding, of which 80 were supported by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and 36 by nasogastric tube, were included in the present study. The patients were divided into two groups: 62 patients treated with PPI (PPI group) and 54 patients without PPI (non-PPI group). Mortality due to nosocomial pneumonia was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier approach and the log-rank test.
Results: A total of 36 patients (31%) died of nosocomial pneumonia during the observation period; the mortality rate due to nosocomial pneumonia was significantly higher in the PPI group than in the non-PPI group (P = 0.0395). Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that the use of PPI and lower levels of serum albumin were independent predictors of 2-year mortality due to nosocomial pneumonia. Gastrointestinal bleeding was observed in four patients in the non-PPI group (7.7%) and in one patient in the PPI group (1.6%); there was no significant difference between the two groups.
Conclusion: The use of PPI in bedridden tube-fed patients was independently associated with mortality due to nosocomial pneumonia, and the PPI group had a non-significant lower incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding than the non-PPI group. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1215-1218.
(© 2018 The Authors Geriatrics & Gerontology International published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Geriatrics Society.)