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Randomized study comparing 1 with 2 weeks of quadruple therapy for eradicating Helicobacter pylori
W A de Boer1, W M Driessen, V P Potters
1Department of Internal Medicine, Sint Joseph Ziekenhuis, Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
Objectives:
We investigated whether the recommended 2-wk triple therapy for eradicating Helicobacter pylori could be reduced to 1 wk, and thus we tried to determine the optimal treatment duration for triple therapy.
Methods:
A group of 111 consecutive patients with H. pylori-proven chronic peptic ulcer disease was entered in a randomized study comparing the side effects, compliance, and eradication rates with either 1 wk or 2 wk of traditional triple therapy in combination with an H2 receptor antagonist (quadruple therapy).
Results:
Follow-up data were available for 109 patients. Eradication for 1 wk of treatment was 53/56 (95%) [95% confidence interval (CI), 89-100%] and for the 2-wk treatment schedule was 50/53 (94%) (95% CI, 88-100%). Therefore 1-wk quadruple therapy appears sufficient, and prolonging treatment does not increase efficacy. Compliance with quadruple therapy is better when the duration of treatment decreases from 2 to 1 wk. One-week quadruple therapy seems feasible for most patients.
Conclusions:
Because of the high eradication rate and good tolerability of this short course of quadruple therapy, we recommend it as first-line anti-Helicobacter treatment in a compliant population.