Proton Pump Inhibitors

GORD patients with simple reflux should be encouraged to make healthy lifestyle changes eg weight loss, avoid large fatty meals and raise the head of the bed at night. Patients with GORD should be given full dose PPI for 2 months . If symptoms recur and in complicated reflux long term maintenance should be considered.

PPIs should be prescribed for appropriate indications at the lowest effective dose for the shortest period; the need for long-term treatment should be reviewed periodically.

Intravenous PPI is used for patients with confirmed upper GI bleeding and those with endoscopic evidence of recurrent haemorrhage. PPIs should not be used prior to diagnosis by endoscopy in patients with upper GI bleeding.

OTC pack sizes available may be different to the pack sizes listed here.

Choices for dispersible tablets:

Omeprazole dispersible tablets are the first choice PPI for children (>1 year and >10kg) who cannot swallow the capsules in both hospital and community.

For adult patients with swallowing difficulty the first choice PPI is omeprazole dispersible for community and lansoprazole dispersible for hospital.