Heartburn Drugs Linked to Pneumonia
 (Chicago, AP, 10/27/04)

Robert J.F. Laheij at University Medical Center St. Radboud in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and colleagues, reviewed the records of 364,683 patients, among whom 5,551 cases of pneumonia had been diagnosed. One hundred and Eighty five of the pneumonia cases were in people taking acid-suppressing drugs, such as Nexium, Pepcid and Prilosec. .The scientists say that these results indicate that people taking heartburn medications are more susceptible to pneumonia. The researchers theorize that by reducing germ-killing acid, the drugs may allow harmful bacteria to thrive and travel to the lungs. These findings suggest that these drugs should be used with caution.