Bismuth-free triple therapy for eradicating Helicobacter pylori and reducing the gastric ulcer recurrence rate.

OBJECTIVES

The goals of this study were to assess the effectiveness of a new triple therapy consisting of amoxicillin and metronidazole with plaunotol in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in humans, and to determine whether this treatment regimen reduces the rate of recurrence of gastric ulcer in patients infected with H. pylori, without instituting maintenance therapy with H2-receptor antagonists.

METHODS

Thirty patients with active gastric ulcer who were infected with H. pylori were first treated with omeprazole until scarring occurred. Patients then received plaunotol for 4 wk, with amoxicillin and metronidazole for 7 days.

RESULTS

This triple therapy resulted in the safe eradication of H. pylori in 26 (86.7%) of 30 patients, with no recurrence of ulcer seen during a 12-month follow-up period in patients who tested negative for the presence of H. pylori. In addition, histological inflammatory changes improved in these patients. Of the four patients with persistent H. pylori infection, in three (75%), ulcers recurred.

CONCLUSION

This new triple therapy was very effective in eradicating H. pylori in infected patients and in reducing the rate of recurrence of gastric ulcer in these patients.