title: What do we know about benefits of H. pylori treatment in childhood?
abstract: Policy analysis shows that H. pylori test and treat strategies targeting adults at moderate to high risk of H. pylori-induced disease is likely to be cost-effective for preventing digestive diseases responsible for a large global disease burden. Little is known, however, about health benefits to children from eliminating this infection. We conducted a systematic review of the evidence regarding health benefits to children from treatment to eliminate H. pylori infection.   We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE for pertinent review articles published through 2012. We excluded reviews focused on treatment efficacy and scrutinized reference lists of selected reviews to identify additional eligible reviews. Fifteen reviews met specified inclusion criteria. Overall, they show that few reported studies investigating pediatric health effects of treatment for H. pylori infection were well designed with adequate statistical power. Thus, there is insufficient evidence for drawing conclusions about health benefits to children from treatment to eliminate H. pylori infection.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research; Department of Medicine; Department of Public Health Sciences; School of Public Health; University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Mónica S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research; Department of Medicine; Department of Public Health Sciences; School of Public Health; University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Emily V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Hastings
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research; Department of Medicine; Department of Public Health Sciences; School of Public Health; University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy
keywords: Helicobacter pylori; benefit; child; prevention; treatment