Helicobacter pylori: the challenge in therapy.
For the therapeutic management of Helicobacter pylori infection, the Maastricht 2-2000 Consensus Report have introduced the concept of the 'treatment package' that considers first- and second-line eradication therapies together. According to this consensus statement, the first-line therapy for H. pylori eradication is a combination of the proton pump inhibitors (PPI) or ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC) and claritromycin plus either amoxicillin or metronidazole. The second-line treatment is suggested to be PPI-quadruple therapy for a minimum of 7 days. If bismuth compounds are not available, PPI-based triple therapy will have to be used as a second-line treatment only after susceptibility testing. Since no considerable progress has been made during the past year in treatment regimens, there is still a need for new compounds that are specific for H. pylori, which could constitute future therapies.
Bazzoli
Franco
F
2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, Italy. bazzoli@alma.unibo.it
Pozzato
Paolo
P
Rokkas
Theodore
T
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides; D010406:Penicillins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D018942:Macrolides; D010406:Penicillins