Pneumonia Risk Greater With Acid-Reflux Drugs, Study Indicates

Acid reflux drugs commonly given hospital patients appear to present a greater incidence of pneumonia according to a study to be published in The Journal of the American Medical Association the New York Times reports, "Some Acid-Reflux Drugs Tied To Pneumonia."  The most common acid reflux drugs are Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid and are given somewhere between 40-70% of hospital inpatients.  The study concludes that "acid-suppressive medication use was associated with 30% increased odds of hospital-acquired pneumonia."