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Use of acid-suppressive agents is common among hospitalized patients, and concern has been rising about the potential of such medications to increase the risk for infections, including Clostridium difficile disease and both ventilator-associated and community-acquired pneumonia. Now, researchers have conducted a prospective epidemiologic cohort study to assess the effect of these agents on hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) among adult inpatients not in the ICU.
Patients were admitted to the hospital — an urban academic medical center in Boston —from January 2004 through December 2007; all remained hospitalized for ≥3 days. Pertinent information was obtained from electronic medical databases. The primary outcome was HAP, based on ICD-9 coding…