Reduce unnecessary use of proton pump inhibitors

### What you need to know Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the most widely used classes of drugs globally, often taken for longer than needed and at high financial cost to society. Among adults living in the community, the point prevalence of PPI use is 7-8% in the UK and Denmark,12 while rates of use of 40-50% have been reported in older people in Canada and in those living in residential care in Australia.3456 In England, more than 50 million prescriptions for PPIs were issued in 2015.7 While PPIs are effective for upper gastrointestinal disorders and may be continued long term (beyond 8 weeks)8 for specific conditions (box 1),11121314 people often continue taking them for years when guidelines recommend 4-8 weeks of treatment or, in the case of gastrointestinal bleeding prophylaxis for critically ill patients, cessation when the patient is no longer critically ill or the risk factor triggering prophylaxis is no longer present (box 2).9131516 Box 1 ### Indications for long term use (>8 weeks) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)910RETURN TO TEXT