Report / Paper metadata
Comparative hepatic safety between tegoprazan and esomeprazole: a real-world cohort study
A Korean hospital cohort found fewer laboratory-defined liver events among tegoprazan users than esomeprazole users over 120 days. The observational finding is not proof of fewer clinically significant liver injuries or a general safety advantage.
What did the researchers compare?
The retrospective study examined adults beginning one of the two medicines and prescribed it for at least fourteen days. After propensity-score matching, the analysis included 2,970 tegoprazan users and 4,634 esomeprazole users. Matching attempts to balance recorded patient characteristics; it is not random treatment assignment.
What counted as an event?
The study used increases in ALT, bilirubin or GGT relative to baseline and above the normal range within 120 days. This laboratory-based definition is not an adjudicated diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury. The paper notes that transient changes and factors other than the medicine can affect these tests.
What result was reported?
The adjusted hazard ratio for the laboratory-defined outcome was 0.73, with a 95% confidence interval from 0.56 to 0.95. This describes a relative association in the analysed dataset, not an absolute reduction in serious liver injuries. Follow-up ALT above 100 U/L was reported in 0.8% and 2.0% of users, respectively.
Which limitation changes the reading?
The full paper reports that using a narrower baseline-test window moved the comparative estimate to no clear difference. That sensitivity matters and prevents treating the main estimate as settled. Test timing was not standardised, clinically significant liver injury was not adjudicated, and unmeasured differences such as alcohol use or other medicines could still affect the result.
What can be concluded?
The finding is a hypothesis for further study with standardised monitoring and confirmed clinical outcomes. It comes from one hospital and a short follow-up window, so it does not establish long-term safety, effectiveness for every indication or which medicine an individual should take. This explanation uses the abstract and the full paper's stated limitations; it is not prescribing advice.
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- Paper metadata
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- PMC13642321