title: Risks and Benefits of Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis for Patients With Severe Sepsis.
abstract: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines recommend stress ulcer prophylaxis for patients with severe sepsis who have bleeding risks. Although sepsis has been considered as a risk factor for gastrointestinal bleeding, the effect of stress ulcer prophylaxis has not been studied in patients with severe sepsis. Furthermore, stress ulcer prophylaxis may be associated with an increased risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia or Clostridium difficile infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the risks and benefits of stress ulcer prophylaxis for patients with severe sepsis.
  
  
  
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  
  Five hundred twenty-six acute care hospitals in Japan.
  
  
  
  A total of 70,862 patients with severe sepsis.
  
  
  
  None.
  
  
  
  One-to-one propensity score matching created 15,651 pairs of patients who received stress ulcer prophylaxis within 2 days of admission and those who did not. Patient characteristics were well balanced between the two groups. No significant differences were seen between the stress ulcer prophylaxis group and the control group with regard to gastrointestinal bleeding requiring endoscopic hemostasis (0.6% vs 0.5%; p = 0.208), 30-day mortality (16.4% vs 16.9%; p = 0.249), and Clostridium difficile infection (1.4% vs 1.3%; p = 0.588). The stress ulcer prophylaxis group had a significantly higher proportion of hospital-acquired pneumonia (3.9% vs 3.3%; p = 0.012) compared with the control group.
  
  
  
  Since the rate of gastrointestinal bleeding requiring endoscopic hemostasis is not different comparing patients with and without stress ulcer prophylaxis, and the increase in hospital-acquired pneumonia is significant, routine stress ulcer prophylaxis for patients with severe sepsis may be unnecessary.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Economics, School of Public Health, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. 2Department of Surgery, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan. 3Department of Health Policy and Informatics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasabuchi
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Alan K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lefor
authors.forename: Kiyohide
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fushimi
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yasunaga
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006493:Heparin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000517:prevention & control*; D057216:Propensity Score; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors; D006493:Heparin