Context Reduction of gastric acid secretion by acid-suppressive therapy allows pathogen colonization from the upper gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria and viruses in the contaminated stomach have been identified as species from the oral cavity.Objective To examine the association between the use of acid-suppressive drugs and occurrence of community-acquired pneumonia.Design, Setting, and Participants Incident acid-suppressive drug users with at least 1 year of valid database history were identified from the Integrated Primary Care Information database between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2002. Incidence rates for pneumonia were calculated for unexposed and exposed individuals. To reduce confounding by indication, a case-control analysis was conducted nested in a cohort of incident users of acid-suppressive drugs. Cases were all individuals with incident pneumonia during or after stopping use of acid-suppressive drugs. Up to 10 controls were matched to each case for practice, year of birth, sex, and index date. Conditional logistic regression was used to compare the risk of communityacquired pneumonia between use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H 2 -receptor antagonists.Main Outcome Measure Community-acquired pneumonia defined as certain (proven by radiography or sputum culture) or probable (clinical symptoms consistent with pneumonia). ResultsThe study population comprised 364683 individuals who developed 5551 first occurrences of pneumonia during follow-up. The incidence rates of pneumonia in non-acid-suppressive drug users and acid-suppressive drug users were 0.6 and 2.45 per 100 person-years, respectively. The adjusted relative risk for pneumonia among persons currently using PPIs compared with those who stopped using PPIs was 1.89 (95% confidence interval, 1.36-2.62). Current users of H 2 -receptor antagonists had a 1.63-fold increased risk of pneumonia (95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.48) compared with those who stopped use. For current PPI users, a significant positive doseresponse relationship was observed. For H 2 -receptor antagonist users, the variation in dose was restricted. ConclusionCurrent use of gastric acid-suppressive therapy was associated with an increased risk of community-acquired pneumonia.

The complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a painful disorder that can occur in an extremity after any type of injury, or even spontaneously. Data on the incidence of CRPS are scarce and mostly hospital based. Therefore the size of the problem and its burden on health care and society are unknown. The objective of the present study was to estimate the incidence of CRPS in the general population. A retrospective cohort study was conducted during 1996-2005 in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) project, a general practice research database with electronic patient record data from 600,000 patients throughout The Netherlands. Potential CRPS cases were identified by a sensitive search algorithm including synonyms and abbreviations for CRPS. Subsequently, cases were validated by electronic record review, supplemented with original specialist letters and information from an enquiry of general practitioners. The estimated overall incidence rate of CRPS was 26.2 per 100,000 person years (95% CI: 23.0-29.7). Females were affected at least three times more often than males (ratio: 3.4). The highest incidence occurred in females in the age category of 61-70 years. The upper extremity was affected more frequently than the lower extremity and a fracture was the most common precipitating event (44%). The observed incidence rate of CRPS is more as four times higher than the incidence rate observed in the only other population-based study, performed in Olmsted County, USA. Postmenopausal woman appeared to be at the highest risk for the development of CRPS.

AimFalls in the elderly are common and often serious. We studied the association between multiple drug use (polypharmacy) and falls in the elderly. MethodsThis was a population-based cross-sectional study, part of the Rotterdam Study. The participants were 6928 individuals aged ≥ 55 years. The prevalence of falls in the previous year was assessed. Medication use was determined with an intervieweradministered questionnaire with verification of use. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of four or more drugs per day. ResultsThe prevalence of falls strongly increased with age. Falls were more common in women than in men. Fall risk increased with increasing disability, presence of joint complaints, use of a walking aid and fracture history. The risk of falling increased significantly with the number of drugs used per day ( P for trend < 0.0001). After adjustment for a large number of comorbid conditions and disability, polypharmacy remained a significant risk factor for falling. Stratification for polypharmacy with or without at least one drug which is known to increase fall risk (notably CN S drugs and diuretics) disclosed that only polypharmacy with at least one risk drug was associated with an increased risk of falling. ConclusionsFall risk is associated with the use of polypharmacy, but only when at least one established fall risk-increasing drug was part of the daily regimen.

Facial pain has a considerable impact on quality of life. Accurate incidence estimates in the general population are scant. The aim was therefore to estimate the incidence rate (IR) of trigeminal neuralgia (TGN), postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), cluster headache (CH), occipital neuralgia (ON), local neuralgia (LoN), atypical facial pain (AFP), glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) and paroxysmal hemicrania (PH) in the Netherlands. In the population-based Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) medical record database potential facial pain cases were identified from codes and narratives. Two medical doctors reviewed medical records, questionnaires from general practitioners and specialist letters using criteria of the International Association for the Study of Pain. A pain specialist arbitrated if necessary and a random sample of all cases was evaluated by a neurologist. The date of onset was defined as date of first specific symptoms. The IR was calculated per 100,000PY. Three hundred and sixty-two incident cases were ascertained. The overall IR [95% confidence interval] was 38.7 [34.9-42.9]. It was more common among women compared to men. Trigeminal neuralgia and cluster headache were the most common forms among the studied diseases. Paroxysmal hemicrania and glossopharyngeal neuralgia were among the rarer syndromes. The IR increased with age for all diseases except CH and ON, peaking in the 4th and 7th decade, respectively. Postherpetic neuralgia, CH and LoN were more common in men than women. From this we can conclude that facial pain is relatively rare, although more common than estimated previously based on hospital data.

The use of non-cardiac QTc-prolonging drugs in a general population is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death.

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Incidence rate estimates of neuropathic pain are scanty and mostly address single types whereas the scope of the disease is wide. We aimed to calculate the incidence rates of neuropathic pain conditions in the Dutch general population and to assess treatment strategies in primary care. The study population included persons registered for at least one year in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database between 1996 and 2003. Neuropathic pain was ascertained and classified by systematic review of computerized longitudinal medical records. Incidence rates (IR) were calculated, and the treatment for pain was compared to age and gender matched controls. Among 362,693 persons contributing 1,116,215 person years (PY), we identified 9135 new cases of neuropathic pain (IR: 8.2/1000 PY, 95%CI: 8.0-8.4). Mononeuropathy and carpal tunnel syndrome were the most frequent types with 4.3 and 2.3 cases/1000 PY followed by diabetic peripheral neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia at 0.72 and 0.42/1000 PY. Neuropathic pain was 63% more common in women than in men and peaked between the ages 70 and 79. More than 50% of cases received pain medication within 6 months after diagnosis, mostly consisting of NSAIDs or aspirin. Anticonvulsants and tricyclic antidepressants were only used by 4.8 and 4.7% of cases. Neuropathic pain is a rather frequent condition with an annual incidence of almost 1% of the general population and affecting women and middle-aged persons more often. The treatment mostly consisted of regular analgesics suggesting that pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain is suboptimal.

Current use of antipsychotics in a general population is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, even at a low dose and for indications other than schizophrenia. Risk of sudden cardiac death was highest among recent users but remained elevated during long-term use.