Antacids and their role in treatment of digestive diseases in pregnant women

Abstract

Antacids are drugs that can neutralize or buffer the hydrochloric acid of the stomach without affecting its production. History of the clinical use of antacids dates back several centuries. The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of modern antacids, provides a classification of drugs of this group, considers the mechanisms of their action, explains the term “acid-neutralizing activity”, lists indications for the use of antacids and possible adverse effects of antacid therapy. The results of various foreign and domestic studies on the use of acid-suppressive drugs, including antacids, are presented.
 Currently, antacids continue to be used for the symptomatic treatment of certain acid-dependent diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Due to a number of physiological reasons, GERD often worries pregnant women, most often in the third trimester of pregnancy. The choice of acid-suppressing agents in pregnant women is extremely limited, because the possibility of prescribing any drugs in this category of patients is determined by the safety of the drug, its tolerability, and the absence of teratogenic effects. Features of the mechanism of action of antacids, their favorable pharmacological properties determine the possibility of using modern combined drugs of this group during pregnancy. Relieving heartburn in pregnant women through the use of non-absorbable combined antacids is supported by the FDA, the European guidelines for the treatment of GERD. The article lists antacid drugs registered in the pharmaceutical market, special attention is paid to drugs approved for use during pregnancy.