Association between omeprazole use and Clostridium difficile infection among hospitalized patients: A case–control study of the Saudi population

Background: While few international studies have assessed the association between omeprazole use and the risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), research into this is lacking in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region. The aim of this study was to determine whether exposure to omeprazole is associated with the risk of Clostridium difficile infection in a sample of hospitalized Saudi patients. Methodology: A retrospective matched case–control study was conducted at the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 1 August 2010 through 31 July 2015. The analysis included a total of 200 patients: 100 CDI cases and 100 matched controls. Results: The majority (60%, 120 out of 200) of patients had received proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and a minority (18.5%, 37 out of 200) had received omeprazole. The PPI use was insignificantly higher in CDI cases than in controls. However, the use of omeprazole was significantly higher in CDI cases compared with controls. Specifically, patients receiving omeprazole were two times more likely to develop CDI compared with controls (aOR = 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) = (1.007–4.437)). After adjusting for potential predictors of CDI, watery diarrhea (aOR = 59.1, 95% CI = 19.831–175.974) and abdominal pain (aOR = 7.5, 95% CI = 2.184–25.445) were found to be independent predictors of CDI. Conclusions: The data suggests that PPIs were commonly used in patients admitted to King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh: six out of ten patients received PPIs. The findings support a possible association between the use of omeprazole and a high risk of CDI. To confirm causality, the link between omeprazole and CDI should be assessed in a large interventional study.