Drug Interactions between aspirin / omeprazole and indinavir

MONITOR: Inhibitors of the proton pump (PPIs or potassium-competitive acid blockers [PCABs]) may decrease the gastrointestinal absorption of indinavir. The proposed mechanism is a pH-dependent reduction in drug dissolution or absorption. The interaction has been reported specifically with omeprazole but may be expected with other proton pump inhibitors based on their common pharmacologic action.

MANAGEMENT: Caution is advised during the chronic use of these drugs with indinavir due to the risk of treatment failure and emergence of drug resistance associated with subtherapeutic levels of indinavir. Patients should be monitored for altered antiviral effectiveness.

Coadministration with proton pump inhibitors may decrease the oral bioavailability of aspirin and other salicylates. The interaction has been studied with omeprazole and aspirin, although data are conflicting. In one study, pretreatment with omeprazole (20 mg/day for 2 days) in 11 healthy volunteers led to a significant and progressively greater reduction in the mean serum salicylate level at 30, 60, and 90 minutes after administration of aspirin (650 mg single dose). The investigators suggest that acid suppression may reduce the lipophilic nature of aspirin, thereby adversely affecting its absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Another study found no effect of omeprazole pretreatment (20 mg/day for 4 days) on plasma salicylate and aspirin levels, skin bleeding times, or antiplatelet effect of low-dose aspirin (125 mg single dose) in 14 healthy volunteers. However, these results do not exclude the possibility that omeprazole might interfere with the analgesic, antipyretic, or anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin, which has been demonstrated in rats.

Proton pump inhibitors may enhance the release rate of salicylates from enteric-coated formulations due to premature disruption of the coating and intragastric release of the drug secondary to an increase in gastric pH. In eight healthy volunteers, omeprazole pretreatment (20 mg/day for 4 days) did not affect the bioavailability of salicylate from uncoated aspirin tablets but significantly increased the absorption rate of salicylate from enteric-coated sodium salicylate tablets. The clinical significance of this interaction is unknown. Theoretically, it may increase the risk of gastric adverse effects associated with salicylates.