-transparent.png){kind=logo}
OBJECTIVE The current guidelines recommend 1-wk triple therapy regimens for eradicating H. pylori infection. Until now, shorter regimens have scarcely been investigated. Azithromycin is a new generation macrolide antibiotic with unusual and favorable pharmacokinetics, and seems to be a very promising agent for innovative anti-H. pylori regimens. We assessed the efficacy and tolerability of a new 4-day low dose triple therapy in comparison with a well established 1-wk triple therapy in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. METHODS One hundred-sixty consecutive patients with biopsy-proven H. pylori infection were randomized to receive lansoprazole 30 mg b.i.d. on days 1-4, azithromycin 500 mg u.i.d. on days 2-4, and tinidazole 2000 mg u.i.d. on day 3 (LAT group), or 7 days of triple therapy of omeprazole 20 mg u.i.d., clarithromycin 250 mg b.i.d., and tinidazole 500 mg b.i.d. (OCT group). Patients with gastric or duodenal active ulcer received proton pump inhibitors for an additional 4 wk. H. pylori eradication was defined as negative of both rapid urease test and histology on biopsies taken from the gastric body and antrum at least 1 month after the end of treatment. RESULTS Seven patients in the LAT group and four in the OCT group were lost to follow-up. No significant difference in either efficacy or tolerability was observed between the two regimens. Active ulcers healed in 97.8% of cases with LAT and in 100% of cases with OCT. The eradication rate was 80.8% in the LAT group and 85.5% in the OCT group, considering the per-protocol results, and 73.3% and 81.2%, respectively, considering the intention-to-treat results. Side effects occurred in one LAzT patient and in two OCT patients; they were mild and did not interfere with compliance. CONCLUSIONS The new proposed ultrashort triple therapy, including lansoprazole, low dose azithromycin for 3 days, and a single dose of tinidazole, appears to be a very effective anti-H. pylori regimen, a simpler, cheaper, well-tolerated, and equally effective alternative to 1-wk triple therapy.
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
December 1998,
Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
September 2007,
European journal of clinical investigation,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
December 1997,
Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
January 1995,
European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
March 2001,
Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
October 2004,
Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
January 2005,
Chinese journal of digestive diseases,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
October 2010,
Clinical and experimental nephrology,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
January 1995,
European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology,
L Trevisani, and
S Sartori, and
M Caselli, and
M Ruina, and
G Verdianelli, and
V Abbasciano
August 1998,
Zhonghua yi xue za zhi = Chinese medical journal; Free China ed,
