Researchers Verify Link Between Heartburn Medication And Community-Acquired C. Difficile

A new study conducted by MUHC (McGill University Health Centre) researchers adds further evidence to the link between proton pump inhibitors, such as heartburn medications, and Clostridium difficile infection outside of hospitals. The findings published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) today used a clinical research database to confirm that proton pump inhibitors are a risk factor for C. difficile infection.

Numerous studies worldwide have documented increases in hospital C. difficile associated disease, but this study is one of only a handful to suggest this trend is mirrored in the general community.

"Our results show that drugs known to suppress stomach acid, such as heartburn medications, are associated with an increased risk of C.difficile associated disease," says Dr. Sandra Dial, an MUHC researcher and lead author of the new study. "By reducing gastric acidity, we believe proton pump inhibitors provide a more hospitable environment within which C. difficile bacteria can colonize."

The researchers also discovered that almost half the patients who had been diagnosed with C.difficile in the community had not received antibiotics - another known risk factor. Until recently, it had been assumed that C.difficile occurred almost entirely in patients who had taken antibiotics in a hospital setting. "These results highlight the fact that patients may develop C.difficile without receiving antibiotics in settings such as the community where antibiotic use may be less common," noted Dr. Dial who is also Attending Staff in the Department of Critical Care at both the MUHC and Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at McGill University.

The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health-care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute supports over 500 researchers, nearly 1000 graduate and post-doctoral students and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research.