The prevalence of pantoprazole associated thrombocytopenia in a community hospital

Objective: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used in the treatment of gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer disease. Thrombocytopenia is not listed as one of the main side effects of PPI therapy. However, there have been documented cases of thrombocytopenia with the use of PPIs in the literature. Our objective was to determine whether exposure to PPIs leads to an increased incidence of thrombocytopenia in hospitalized patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined the platelet counts of 468 hospitalized patients who were 18 – 80 years of age, were prescribed pantoprazole for a minimum of 3 days and were matched to 468 non-medicated controls. The primary outcome was defined as either a drop in the platelet count by ≥ 50% relative to baseline, or a drop to < 150,000/ml. Exclusion criteria were baseline thrombocytopenia and hospitalization for < 3 days. Results: No difference was found in the occurrence of thrombocytopenia between the two groups (6.2%; 95% CI = 4.1 –...