Guía de práctica clínica sobre el manejo del paciente con dispepsia

Practical considerations in the management of proton-pump inhibitors

Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the most active ingredients prescribed in Spain. In recent decades there has been an overuse of these drugs in both outpatient clinics and hospitals that has lead to a significant increase in healthcare spending and to an increase in the risk of possible side effects. It is important for health professionals to know the accepted indications and the correct doses for the use of these drugs. On the market there are different types of PPI: omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole and esomeprazole. Omeprazole is the oldest and most used PPI, being also the cheapest. Although there are no important differences between PPIs in curing diseases, esomeprazole, a new-generation PPI, has proved to be more effective in eradicating H. pylori and in healing severe esophagitis compared to other PPIs. In recent years the use of generic drugs has spread; these drugs have the same bioavailability than the original drugs. In the case of PPIs, the few comparative studies available in the literature between original and generic drugs have shown no significant differences in clinical efficacy.

Optimising acid inhibition treatment

Acid inhibition is safe and useful in several clinical settings. Proton pump inhibitors are more effective than H2-receptor antagonists in virtually all cases. Proton pump inhibitors should be used in: the eradication of Helicobacter pylori; the treatment of non-H. pylori-related peptic ulcer healing; for the prevention and treatment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced upper digestive lesions; for bleeding peptic lesions; and, especially, in the short-term and long-term control of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. The timing, the dosing and the specific drugs should be adapted to the particular patient, clinical situation and local factors. For instance, in a patient with active bleeding from a duodenal ulcer, intravenous constant infusion should be the preferred treatment. When seeking oral 'potent' acid inhibition (refractory gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, and perhaps Barrett's oesophagus), available data suggest that the pharmacological and clinical profiles of esomeprazole are slightly better.

Evaluación de la eficacia diagnóstica de la consultoría entre internistas y médicos de familia para los pacientes con dispepsia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of internal medicine consulting (CIM) in primary care (PC) for the care of patients with dyspepsia.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

Prospective case-control study of a population of 87,016 inhabitants during a 2 years period. We included patients with dyspepsia (319) jointly attended by a family physician (FP) and consulting internists (CI). The CI went weekly to the primary care center (PCC) to attend patients who would have been referred to the hospital outpatient clinic for specialized care (SC). As control group, 775 patients with dyspepsia were randomly and simultaneously chosen among a total of 29,317 first medical referrals during the period of the study.

RESULTS

5.36% of the consultations for SC were patients with dyspepsia (annual incidence of 183 patients/1,000 inhabitants). We observed a significant reduction in: mean time for SC (26.4 days; 22.4-30.4), mean number of tests per patient ordered by SC (0.77; 0.42-1.12), mean time for patient information on the tests ordered by SC (27.3 days; 18.7-35,9), mean time for the resolution of the process (27.3 days; 18.4-36.2) and rate of specialized follow-up visits (25.2%; 18.5-31.9); p < 0.005 in all cases. The resolution rate of the process (37.2%; 25.7-48.7) and the discharge rate (38.7%; 28.9-48.5) were significantly higher for CIM (p < 0.01 in both cases). The referral rate for SC showed a negative correlation (r = -0.97; p < 0.01) with the quality of the management; this rate related to the type of training, age and years of medical practice of the GPs. Satisfaction of patients with the CIM was very high.

CONCLUSIONS

The CIM with PC improves the efficacy of the specialized medical care of patients with dyspepsia.