A prospective study of Helicobacter pylori nonulcer dyspepsia

Helicobacter pylori has been recognized as a contributing factor in gastrointestinal disease. A prospective study was done to evaluate the treatment response of H. pylori nonulcer dyspepsia versus H. pylori-associated gastroduodenal ulcer. Eighty patients were prospectively studied with esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The presence of H. pylori was determined by biopsy. Treatment for H. pylori was amoxicillin, metronidazole, and colloid bismuth with an anti-secretory drug. H. pylori was eradicated in 78.9% of patients. Eighty percent of patients with nonulcer dyspepsia symptomatically improved, compared to 100% of ulcer patients (p = 0.037). Using stepwise logistic regression, H. pylori eradication was an independent predictor of symptomatic improvement. Therefore, this antibiotic regimen was less likely to lead to improvement in patients with nonulcer dyspepsia; however, patients in whom the organism could be eradicated were more likely to benefit.