Omeprazole, H2 blockers, and polyarthralgia: case-control study.

Acute polyarthralgia has been reported in five patients in association with the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole.[1] These patients did not have rheumatoid arthritis, concurrent infections, or connective tissue disorders, and their symptoms resolved after stopping omeprazole.[1] We compared the relative risk of developing acute idiopathic polyarthralgia during and after exposure to omeprazole, ranitidine, or cimetidine, antiulcer drugs used for similar indications.

Subjects, methods, and results

We conducted a nested case-control analysis using data from a UK general practitioner research database which provides the demographics, medical conditions, and drug prescriptions of over four million people.[2-4]

Cohort members comprised people aged 20-60 who had received at least one prescription for omeprazole, ranitidine, or cimetidine between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1994 and had at least one year's medical history recorded on computer. …