Investigating the Use of Pantoprazole in Yazd Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital, 2019

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the main therapeutic agents for acid-related diseases. Pantoprazole, with minimal drug interaction, is one of the well-known PPIs. According to various studies, 25-75% of pantoprazole injections have no indications and cause a high burden on health systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the indication and rate of pantoprazole injections in Yazd Rahnemoon Hospital, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was performed in 72 hospitalized patients in invasive care units, and internal and emergency wards between March and December 2019. Demographic and clinical data, risk factors, PPI indication, and doses of utilized pantoprazole were recorded. The rationality of pantoprazole prescription was confirmed by comparing the drug information from up-to-date database under the supervision of a clinical pharmacist in the hospital.

In total, out of 60 patients who received IV pantoprazole, 52.8% could have received the oral form and in 69.4% there was no indication to use IV pantoprazole.

In this study, parenteral form of pantoprazole was not indicated in majority of the patients. Guidelines should be approved to prevent irrational administration of parental PPIs in hospitals.