Rare But Serious Side Effect of Heartburn Drugs
Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, and other proton pump inhibitor drugs have been reported as the cause of acute interstitial nephritis in 150 cases worldwide. This is rare enough that doctors are often unaware of the possibility. However, it is very important to recognize the problem quickly.
Acute interstitual nephritis can lead to life-threatening kidney failure if it is not treated properly, and the treatment can be as simple as discontinuing the drug that caused the reaction.
The symptoms of acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) are decreased urine production, malaise, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. Many types of kidney damage can produce the same symptoms, so a renal biopsy is the standard diagnostic test. Drug-induced nephritis looks like an infection, with edema (fluid) and an infiltrate of white blood cells. Infections are characterized by large numbers of neutrophils, while mononuclear cells are predominant in drug reactions. The causes of AIN include drug hypersensitivity, infections and autoimmune disease. Other drugs that may cause AIN include antibiotics, diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.
In the case reports provided by a team in the Netherlands, several patients were taking multiple drugs.
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I've been taking Prevacid for about 10 years. After trying ALL those others, thats the only one that stops the burning and nausea. I have had no problems with it (except the price)
There seems to be remarkable variation in how different people react to any drug.