Omeprazole and drug interactions in older patients

IntroductionAims Methods Results Discussion ConclusionReferences Introduction Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used for the treatment of a variety of conditions such as dyspepsia, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer disease. PPIs are pro-drugs that are activated in the presence of acid. They work by irreversibly blocking the gastric H, K-ATPase present on parietal cells, thereby inhibiting gastric acid secretion.1  As PPIs are pro-drugs, drug plasma levels must remain high until gastric acid is secreted resulting in their activation.  Since PPIs are rapidly metabolised by the liver, plasma levels of the drugs are greatly determined by the nature of its metabolism.