Proton pump inhibitors in general medicine. Comparison of routine practices with marketing authorization indications.

Objective: To determine whether inaugural prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors (PPI) written by general practitioners in the Grenoble region are in non-compliance with the indications of the French drug marketing authorization.

Methods: The study was conducted on all inaugural PPI prescriptions written by general practitioners in Grenoble region between March 1 and March 31, 2004. Analyses were performed on a random sample of 600 representative prescriptions.