Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are well known to increase the risk of gastroduodenal (GD) ulcer and its complications. Up to 40% of average-risk NSAID users suffer from dyspepsia without endoscopic evidence of gastroduodenal injury. It results a significant loss of productivity and impairment of Quality of Life (QoL). Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been shown to be effective in preventing and reducing NSAID-induced GD injury. PPIs are believed to have a class effect but Rabeprazole, the least expensive PPI, is grossly under-utilized in this area .
Current Hospital Authority (HA) guidelines, however, only endorse the use of PPI in patients at high risk of ulcer bleeding. Since NSAID-induced dyspepsia is not an indication for PPI according to HA guidelines, those patients do not receive PPI for treatment.
Read more: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01140828?cond=%22Arthritis%22&lup_s=10/31/2013&lup_d=30
