Precautions and Side-effects of Pantoprazole Sodium

Pantoprazole Sodium is a drug which is used for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. The drug specifically is meant for cases in which there is erosion and/or ulceration in esophagus, and was first sold with brand name Protonix in Germany in 1994. It became a generic medicine 2010 onwards. The drug is a proton pump inhibitor. It acts on the parietal cells of the stomach and inhibits the gastric acid secretion.

Precautions in usage of the drug

·         Pantoprazole passes from mother to child through breast milk. The drug has shown to cause tumor growth in rodents. Hence it should be used with caution in pregnancy.

·         It should be used in children who are above 5 years of age

·         The drug should only be used for short term therapy. Long term use of the drug can lead to chronic inflammation in stomach, atrophic gastritis, vitamin B12 deficiency, hypo magnesia etc.

Side effects of the drug

·         Most common- abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, headache, dizziness, arthralgia

·         Rare-leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, elevated AST/ALT, elevated creatine kinase, interstitial nephritis, rhabdomyolysis, Clostridium difficile infection etc

·         Infection- hydrochloric acid is secreted by stomach which kills the bacteria which enters our body through food. Since the drug reduces the secretion of the acid, patients may develop infections specially nosocomial infections.

·         Long-term (over 1 year)  use of the drug may lead to osteoporosis and bone fracture

·         Interactions- as the drug reduces the acidity of the stomach, absorption of other pH sensitive drugs like mycophenolate mofetil, atazanavir, ketoconazole, ampicillin esters, iron salts etc may be affected.

Latest information

In 2017, the drug has been marketed as a combination drug with domperidone, itopride, amoxicillin, naproxen, clarithromycin, levosulpiride under various brand names across the world

Disclaimer: The information given in this write-up is purely for educating the reader. It is not meant to be a substitute for any advice from a medical expert.