Treatment of Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori causes several gastroduodenal diseases. Various antibiotic regimens are available that eradicate H. pylori in 80 to 90% of patients, but no regimen cures all patients. Dual therapy is now obsolete. Triple therapy with two antibiotics and either a proton pump inhibitor or bismuth is the regimens of choice. Metronidazole and clarithromycin are the two key antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance against these two drugs is becoming more problematic and should be taken into consideration when choosing a regimen, Antibiotic resistance is usually induced after failure. Quadruple therapy has been used as a salvage regimen in failed cases but it is also the most complicated regimen. Several new agents are being studied including a single capsule that contains bismuth, metronidazole, and tetracycline. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.