14-day quadruple therapy with ranitidine bismuth citrate after Helicobacter pylori treatment failure in Thailand

A quadruple therapy with a proton pump inhibitor, bismuth, metronidazole and tetracycline is recommended as a second line therapy after Helicobacter pylori treatment failure.

To evaluate the efficacy of 14-day ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC) base quadruple therapy after H. pylori treatment failure in Thai patients.

Between June 2003-May 2005, thirty-four patients who were H. pylori positive after first line (Omeprazole, Amoxicillin, Clarithromycin or Metronidazole) treatment failure received 14-day quadruple therapy with RBC (400 mg bid), Rabeprazole (20 mg bid), Metronidazole (500 mg tid) and Tetracycline (500 mg qid). Four weeks after completion of treatment, eradication was confirmed with 14C-urea breath test.

There were 18 males (52.9%) and 16 females (47.1%) with a mean age of 47.3 +/- 14.6 years. Four patients dropped out due to side effects. Per-protocol eradication rate was 86.7% and the intention-to-treat eradication rate was 76.5%. Adverse effects were found in 38.2% with a bitter taste, nausea, and dizziness. The mean age in the treatment failure group was younger than that in the successful group (35.3 +/- 13.9 vs 51.1 +/- 13.9 years, p = 0.046, 95%CI, 0.3-31.5%). The abdominal symptoms were improved after eradication (82.4%).

The 14-day quadruple therapy with ranitidine bismuth citrate is effective and well tolerated for the patients who failed with the Helicobacterpylori treatment. The patients with older age may receive a more favorable outcome of the treatment.