Proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) are frequently used in the emergency and general practice settings in several clinical presentations linked to acute upper gastro-intestinal tract disorders as abdominal or chest pain without recommendations.
The aim of this scoping review was to assess pain reduction, diagnostic performance, and safety in the first 24 h-management in primary care or emergency medicine.
Search was realized by 2 independent reviewers in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Only original articles or systematic reviews in English were included. Studies about chronic and/or bleeding conditions, therapeutic cocktails and studies without pain evaluation were excluded. Two methodologies were used for bias estimation.
From 4442 titles, 79 full-text articles were assessed, and 9 were included. There is no strong evidence supporting the use of PPI as a first line analgesic or diagnostic test in acute syndromes linked to acute upper gastro-intestinal tract disorder. A small effect in pain reduction was retrieved in patients with low pain scores. A poor additional value in patients with gastric reflux, and a low specificity compared to other diagnostic tests were observed. A short-term PPI administration appears to be safe with low risk of serious allergic reactions, and poor adverse effects (moderate evidence).
Although PPIs may contribute to the multimodal analgesia in acute settings, with few and/or minor side effects, no recommendation can be drawn for their use as a primary analgesic. Data regarding the relevance of the PPI test are much less clear, no data regarding care pathways are available.
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.
