Efficacy of a single 24‐hour pre‐anesthetic dose of proton pump inhibitors

Abstract

The H(2) receptor antagonist roxatidine is routinely used as an oral pre-anesthetic medication in surgical patients at night and 2 h before surgery. In the present study, we have compared the effects of roxatidine, rabeprazole and lansoprazole given singly at night as an alternative to the standard double roxatidine medication. 120 adult patients undergoing urological surgery were randomly assigned to three groups: roxatidine, rabeprazole and lansoprazole (n = 40 each). Following induction of anesthesia, gastric fluid was obtained by aspiration using a syringe to measure pH and volume of gastric contents. Gastric volume (14.1 +/- 1.9 mL) in the lansoprazole group was significantly larger than that in roxatidine (8.6 +/- 1.7 mL) and rabeprazole (7.5 +/- 1.1 mL) groups (P < 0.05). Gastric pH in lansoprazole group (4.10 +/- 0.38) was also significantly lower than that in the roxatidine group (5.41 +/- 0.31, P < 0.05). The numbers of patients with critical factors for acid aspiration pneumonia (gastric pH < 2.5 or volume > 25 mL) in the lansoprazole group was significantly higher than in the roxatidine group (P < 0.05). Gastric pH and volume in all groups were constant even in the afternoon. Single rabeprazole (but not lansoperazole) medication may be a suitable alternative to standard roxatidine for prophylaxis of acid aspiration pneumonia.