Evaluation of proton pump inhibitor use characteristics and associated factors in patients over 18 years of age presenting to family medicine outpatient clinics

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs), which is the mainstay treatment for acid-related pathologies and one of the most prescribed drug groups worldwide and in our country, have drawn attention due to their increasing use over prolonged periods and the growing number of publications reporting potential adverse effects, prompting investigations on their inappropriate use. In our study, we aimed to determine the characteristics of PPI users, PPI prescription trends, and to evaluate the factors associated with inappropriate PPI utilization. The questionnaire, which was developed based on the medical literature, was administered to 160 PPI using volunteers aged 18 years and older who were admitted to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Family Medicine outpatient clinics. In our study, inappropriate PPI use was found to be 26.9%, which is lower than the rates of inappropriate use in other studies. No significant relationship was found between inappropriate use and gender, educational status, and income level. However, the rate of appropriate PPI utilization at the age of 65 years and older was found to be statistically higher than the rate below the age of 65 years (p=0,008). The rate of previous Helicobacter pylori (HP) eradication treatment was found to be approximately 20%, which is quite low considering the prevalence of HP in Türkiye. The rate of PPI discontinuation attempts was 43.8%, of them 82% were made by the patients themselves, and of them 95% returned to PPI treatment upon the recurrence of symptoms. Family physicians alone are the most common prescribers of PPIs after their initial prescription. Hence, implementing PPI deprescription interventions in eligible patients with suitable strategies under the guidance of family physicians appears to be the ideal approach.