Proton pump inhibitors versus histamine-2 receptor antagonists for stress ulcer prophylaxis during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a propensity score-matched analysis

Purpose Patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) generally receive proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) or histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H 2 RAs) to avoid major gastrointestinal bleeding. Our aim was to compare outcomes between patients receiving PPIs and H 2 RAs for stress ulcer prophylaxis during ECMO. Materials and methods We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination Database, using data recorded from 1 July 2010 to 31 March 2017. We defined patients who received PPIs within 2 days after starting ECMO as the PPIs group and those who received H 2 RAs within 2 days after starting ECMO as the H 2 RAs group. We performed propensity score matching to compare outcomes. The primary outcomes were gastrointestinal bleeding requiring endoscopic haemostasis and in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes were red blood cell transfusion, hospital-acquired pneumonia and Clostridium difficile infection during hospitalisation. Results Of 11 328 eligible patients, 9738 received PPIs and 1590 received H 2 RAs. Propensity score matching created 1556 pairs. No significant differences were seen regarding endoscopic haemostasis (1.2% vs 0.8%; p=0.37), in-hospital mortality (53.0% vs 53.1%; p=0.94), red blood cell transfusion rates (91.4% vs 89.7%; p=0.11), hospital-acquired pneumonia (13.0% vs 12.4%; p=0.59) or C. difficile infection (0.1% vs 0.2%; p=0.32) between the PPIs and H 2 RAs groups, respectively. Conclusion We found no differences in the evaluated outcomes between the PPIs and H 2 RAs groups. Both PPIs and H 2 RAs are treatment options for stress ulcer prophylaxis in patients undergoing ECMO.