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Evidence summaries

Eradication of Helicobacter Pylori

Proton pump inhibitor triple therapy (in particular, omeprazole plus clarithromycin plus nitroimidazole) is the most effective drug combination for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Level of evidence: "A"

A systematic review 1 including 352 studies was abstracted in DARE.

Of dual therapies, omeprazole plus amoxycillin (121 studies, 5 725 patients) achieved an eradication rate of 59% (95% CI 58% to 61%) by intention to treat amalysis, and omeprazole plus clarithromycin (37 studies, 1 837 patients) achieved an eradication rate of 68% (95% CI 65-70%). In direct comparisons, eradication rates were higher for triple therapy than for dual therapy.

Standard triple therapy (bismuth plus nitroimidazole plus amoxycillin or tetracycline, 143 studies, 7 979 patients) achieved an eradication rate of 78% (95% CI 77% to 79%). Proton pump inhibitor therapy (79 studies, 5 513 patients) achieved an eradication rate of 86% (95% CI 85% to 87%). H2 receptor antagonist triple therapy (23 studies, 814 patients) achieved an eradication rate of 80% (95% CI 77% to 84%). There were higher eradication rates for omeprazole plus clarithromycin compared with omeprazole plus amoxycillin.

Another systematic review 2 including 666 studies with a total of 1 295 trials of 132 different medication combinations was abstracted in DARE. The most frequently investigated therapeutic regimen that provided sufficient effectiveness were triple therapies: two antimicrobial drugs supplemented by a proton pump inhibitor. A combination of the proton pump inhibitor plus macrolide plus nitroimidazole cured 87.1 and 82.9% of the patients per protocol and intention to treat analysis. Of the 2 macrolides evaluated, clarithromycin was superior to azithromycin. The dosage of clarithromycin incluenced cure rate: 1.5 g of clarithromycin cured H pylori in more patients than 500 mg, 600 mg, 750 mg or 1 g. The dosage of the other drugs did not influence the cure rate. The same antibiotics in combination with ranitidine bismuth subcitrate also performed well: 90.8% and 78.4% of patients were cured per protocol and on intention-to-treat basis. Overall cure rates of between 80% and 85% were achieved using combinations of proton pump inhibitor or ranitidine bismuth subcitrate with 2 antibiotics including clarithromycin, amoxycillin and metronidazole or tinidazole.

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