On today's episode of real-life pharmacology, I'm going to talk about proton pump inhibitors.

Classic examples here, prilosec, generic name omeprosol, protonics, generic name pantoprasol, nexium is is is is mesoprezole, previsid is lansoprasol, and Acefx is rabeprezole.

Now common uses for these agents, they can help prevent stomach acid, or they reduce the amount of stomach acid produced.

So any type of gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, any type of GI ulcer can be helpful for that.

A heartburn, gurd, GI prophylaxis you may see, so patients on NSAIDS, steroids, higher risk,

anti-coagulants that may put patients at higher risk of GI bleed.

You may see it used for stress ulcer prophylaxis in an acute care ICU type setting.

Rare conditions like Barrett's esophagus, you may see chronic long-term use for sure with

PPI's. Also used with management of H. Pylori, a bacterial infection that causes stomach ulcers.

So those are just a few classic examples where these medications are used.

The mechanism of action, again, I said it kind of reduces stomach acid

and helps alleviate symptoms of ulcer, of heartburn, and so on and so forth.

It does that by inhibiting the hydrogen-potassium ATP pump.

And these pumps are located in parietal cells within the stomach.

These are the pumps that create hydrogen ions and lower, excuse me, increase the acidity of the stomach

and creates a lower pH environment within the

stomach due to those hydrogen ions and that increase in acid.

A question I always get asked about PPI's by patients is administration.

You know, how do I take this medication?

When do I take it?

Because they are recommended to be given before meals

and usually only dose once a day.

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