Drug-induced achlorhydria in experimental animals results in excessive hypergastrinaemia, ECL-cell hyperplasia and ECL-cell carcinoidosis. However, these events have not been observed in long-term studies in patients receiving proton pump inhibitors. Serum gastrin levels increase only modestly during acute and long-term treatment. It is concluded that monitoring of serum gastrin levels and of fundic ECL cells is of no clinical relevance even during long-term therapy with proton pump inhibitors. The clinically available proton pump inhibitors such as pantoprazole, omeprazole and lansoprazole are well tolerated, with a low incidence of side-effects. Minor and serious side-effects classified as possibly related to proton pump therapy have been described in up to 2.5% of patients. This is the same order of magnitude as that found in patients treated with H2-receptor blockers and in placebo-treated controls. In most cases, therefore, the observed side-effects are unrelated to the intake of proton pump inhibitors. Minor adverse events include headache, diarrhoea, dizziness, pruritus and rash. Proton pump inhibitors are metabolized mainly in the liver via the cytochrome P450 system and interactions with drugs metabolized by the same system are possible. Evidence is becoming available which suggests that pantoprazole may have less potential to interact with the cytochrome P450 system than the other proton pump inhibitors. In the case of diazepam metabolism, pantoprazole had the least effect on prolongation of the diazepam effect. This may well be an advantage in the clinical use of the drug.