A method of treating gastric acid disorders by administering to a patient a pharmaceutical composition comprising a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The present invention provides an oral solution/suspension comprising a proton pump inhibitor and at least one buffering agent. The PPI can be any substituted benzimidazole compound having H+,K+-ATPase inhibiting activity and being unstable to acid. Omeprazole and lansoprazole are the preferred PPIs for use in oral suspensions in concentrations of at least greater than 1.2 mg/ml and 0.3 mg, respectively. The liquid oral compositions can be further comprised of parietal cell activators, anti-foaming agents and/or flavoring agents. The inventive compositions can alternatively be formulated as a powder, tablet, suspension tablet, chewable tablet, capsule, effervescent powder, effervescent tablet, pellets and granules. Such dosage forms are advantageously devoid of any enteric coating or delayed or sustained-release delivery mechanisms, and comprise a PPI and at least one buffering agent to protect the PPI against acid degradation. Similar to the liquid dosage form, the dry forms can further include anti-foaming agents, parietal cell activators and flavoring agents. Kits utilizing the inventive dry dosage forms are also disclosed herein to provide for the easy preparation of a liquid composition from the dry forms. In accordance with the present invention, there is further provided a method of treating gastric acid disorders by administering to a patient a pharmaceutical composition comprising a proton pump inhibitor in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and at least one buffering agent wherein the administering step comprises providing a patient with a single dose of the composition without requiring further administering of the buffering agent. Additionally, the present invention relates to a method for enhancing the pharmacological activity of an intravenously administered proton pump inhibitor in which at least one parietal cell activator is orally administered to the patient before, during or after the intravenous administration of the proton pump inhibitor.