Effect of low-dose proton pump inhibitor on preventing upper gastrointestinal bleeding in chronic kidney disease patients receiving aspirin

Abstract

Background and aim: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) leads to significant morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. This study determined the efficacy of using a low-dose proton pump inhibitor (PPI) to reduce the risk of non-variceal UGIB in CKD patients receiving aspirin.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 500 CKD patients who received aspirin between January 2008 and March 2013. Cumulative incidence analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method was performed to analyze the rate of non-variceal UGIB and association with the administration of low-dose PPI.

Results: Of the 500 patients, 191 received low-dose PPI. Over the follow-up period, which lasted 1067 person-years, three patients in the low-dose PPI group (8.9 per 1000 person-years) and 19 patients in the non-PPI group (25.9 per 1000 person-years) developed non-variceal UGIB, respectively (P = 0.113). Low-dose PPI use did not decrease the risk of UGIB in CKD patients, including patients who did not receive dialysis (P = 0.127). However, according to the subgroup analysis of 230 patients who received dialysis, the low-dose PPI group (14.4 per 1000 person-years) demonstrated significantly reduced incidence and risk of non-variceal UGIB in comparison with the non-PPI group (53.8 per 1000 person-years) (P = 0.032).

Conclusion: Prophylactic low-dose PPI can reduce the risk of non-variceal UGIB in dialysis patients receiving aspirin.

Keywords: prophylaxis; proton pump inhibitors; upper gastrointestinal bleeding.