Helicobacter pylori eradication: the best long-term prophylaxis for ulcer bleeding recurrence?

Peptic ulcer is the most common cause of acute intestinal hemorrhage. Helicobacter pylori is now accepted as being a pathogenetic agent in chronic active gastritis, and is strongly associated with ulcer disease. Eradication of H. pylori reduces significantly the rate of ulcer recurrence. Preliminary data demonstrate that rebleeding did not occur in patients with complicated ulcers whose H. pylori infection had been eradicated. That this should be the case follows logically from the fact that, if ulcer relapses are eliminated, the associated hemorrhage must also be eliminated. Recent publications on this topic are discussed in this review article.