The FDA has issued a communication about a link between use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and an increased risk of Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhoea (CDAD). The Agency is working with manufacturers to include information about this increased risk in the drug labels. It is also reviewing the risk of CDAD in users of histamine H2 receptor blockers.

The FDA advises the following actions:

• Healthcare Professionals should consider a diagnosis of CDAD for PPI users with diarrhoea that does not improve.

• Patients should seek immediate care from a healthcare professional if they experience watery stool that does not go away, abdominal pain, and fever while taking PPIs.

• Patients should use the lowest dose and shortest duration of PPI therapy appropriate to the condition being treated.