Therapeutic effects of antibacterial treatment for intractable skin diseases in Helicobacter pylori-positive Japanese patients

In order to understand the pathogenic relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and skin diseases, we examined the serum levels of IgG antibody against H. pylori and then performed gastroscopic examinations in Japanese patients with chronic skin diseases. These H pylori-positive patients were treated with antibacterial eradication therapy, and therapeutic efficacy was evaluated. A total of 198 patients who were resistant to conventional therapies were randomly selected. They included 50 cases with chronic urticaria, 32 with pruritus cutaneous, 74 with atopic dermatitis, 15 with nummular dermatitis, 17 with prurigo chronica multiformis, 6 with psoriasis vulgaris, and 4 with erythroderma. Positive anti-H. pylori antibody was detected in 102 out of these 198 patients; more than half of the ones with chronic urticaria, pruritus cutaneous, nummular dermatitis, and prurigo chronica multiformis had positive antibodies. Gastroscopy was then performed in 48 cases with positive antibodies. Eradication therapy was effective in 60% of the patients with chronic urticaria, in 58% with pruritus cutaneous, in 54% with nummular dermatitis, and in 50% with prurigo chronica multiforms. In chronic skin diseases, persistent infection with H. pylori may be an eruption trigger and may cause deterioration of the disease into an intractable chronic form.