A furazolidone-based quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori retreatment in patients with peptic ulcer disease.
OBJECTIVE
Many of the currently used eradication regimens against Helicobacter pylori fail to cure the infection either due to antimicrobial resistance or to poor patient compliance. The infection leads to increased risk of developing potentially severe complications, such as gastric cancer. This study was aimed at assessing the efficacy and safety of a quadruple therapy with furazolidone for H. pylori retreatment.


METHODS
Patients who had failed one or more eradication regimens against H. pylori infection underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Biopsy specimens were taken from the gastric antrum and corpus for histology and for a urease test and. Patients received omeprazole 20 mg, bismuth citrate 240 mg, tetracycline 500 mg, and furazolidone 200 mg, all twice daily for 7 days. Therapeutic success was evaluated by endoscopy and biopsies 8 weeks after the end of treatment.


RESULTS
Sixty two patients were enrolled, and 58 completed the study. Under this protocol, H. pylori eradication was achieved in 39/58 patients (67%). Mild adverse events were reported.


CONCLUSIONS
The short quadruple therapy course with furazolidone is well tolerated, inexpensive, and effective in retreatment for H. pylori infection. It is a good option for developing countries.
Eisig
Jaime Natan
JN
Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo University Medical School, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. jeisig@attglobal.net.
Silva
Fernando Marcuz
FM
Rodriguez
Tomás Navarro
TN
Hashimoto
Cláudio Lyoti
CL
Barbuti
Ricardo Correa
RC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005664:Furazolidone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D019233:Retreatment
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D005664:Furazolidone