The risk of pulmonary adverse drug reactions of rebamipide and other drugs for acid-related diseases: An analysis of the national pharmacovigilance database in South Korea

Continuous co-prescription of rebamipide prevents upper gastrointestinal bleeding in NSAID use for orthopaedic conditions: A nested case-control study using the LIFE Study database

BACKGROUND

Rebamipide has been widely co-prescribed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Japan for decades. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of rebamipide in preventing upper gastrointestinal bleeding in new users of NSAIDs without risk factors of NSAID-induced ulcers other than age.

METHODS

A nested case-control study was conducted using medical claims data of 1.66 million inhabitants of 17 municipalities participating in Japan's Longevity Improvement & Fair Evidence study. The cohort entry (t0) corresponded to a new user of NSAIDs for osteoarthritis or low back pain. Patients with risk factors of NSAID-induced ulcers other than age were excluded. Cases were defined as patients who underwent gastroscopy for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (occurrence date was defined as index date). A maximum of 10 controls were selected from non-cases at the index date of each case by matching sex, age, follow-up time, and type and dosage of NSAIDs. Exposure to rebamipide was defined as prescription status from t0 to index date: Non-user (rebamipide was not co-prescribed during the follow-up period), Continuous-user (rebamipide was co-prescribed from t0 with the same number of tablets as NSAIDs), and Irregular-user (neither Non-user nor Continuous-user). Conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate each category's odds ratio compared to non-users.

FINDINGS

Of 67,561 individuals who met the inclusion criteria, 215 cases and 1,516 controls were selected. Compared with that of Non-users, the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were 0.65 (0.44-0.96) for Continuous-users and 2.57 (1.73-3.81) for Irregular-users.

CONCLUSIONS

Continuous co-prescription of rebamipide significantly reduced the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in an Asian cohort of new users of NSAIDs with osteoarthritis or low back pain without risk factors other than age.

Frequently reported adverse events of rebamipide compared to other drugs for peptic ulcer and gastroesophageal reflux disease

This study aimed to detect safety signals of rebamipide and search for adverse events (AEs) of rebamipide that are more common than those of other drugs for peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in the elderly population. A total of 101,735 AE reports for drugs used to treat PUD and GERD between 2009 and 2018 from the KIDS-KAERS database (KIDS-KD) were used. Disproportionality analysis was performed to calculate the proportional reporting ratio (PRR), reporting odds ratio (ROR), and information component (IC). Drug labels in Korea, Japan, and China were reviewed to identify signals that have been listed. AEs frequently reported in the elderly population were also analyzed. Seriousness and median time to AEs were evaluated for statistically significant AEs. A total of 14 signals were detected, and 4 signals (dry mouth, dermatitis, purpura/petechia, and fluid overload) were not listed on drug labels; however, they may be included as part of other listed AEs. In the elderly population, 11 AEs such as dyspepsia/indigestion/gastrointestinal distress, somnolence, dry mouth, and edema were common. These AEs were not serious and occurred within 2–9 days. This study identified possible AEs of rebamipide, a relatively safe drug.