The novel use of an intravenous proton pump inhibitor in a patient with short bowel syndrome.

Recent evidence suggests that parenteral proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can effectively control gastric acid hypersecretion. Intravenous PPI (omeprazole) can substantially reduce the risk of recurrent bleeding in patients with peptic ulcer disease. We describe a patient with short bowel syndrome who had recurrent life-threatening upper gastrointestinal bleeding from severe gastric and esophageal ulcerations. The patient had failed long-term, maximal-dose intravenous ranitidine therapy but was successfully treated and maintained on long-term therapy with an intravenous PPI (pantoprazole). To our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature describing the use of an intravenous PPI to treat upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with complete intestinal resection. Intravenous PPIs should be considered as the first line of treatment of erosive esophagitis and peptic ulcer disease in patients with short bowel syndrome and in patients who are nil per os and who fail intravenous H 2 -receptor antagonist treatment. Parenteral PPI may also be the drug of choice in intensive care patients who have erosive esophagitis. Furthermore, this is the first case report describing the novel use of intravenous pantoprazole to treat erosive esophagitis in a patient with short bowel syndrome, suggesting that intravenous PPI may also be useful for the treatment of ulcer prophylaxis in patients undergoing intestinal transplantation.