PROPOSAL FOR USE OF A STANDARD SIDE-EFFECT SCORING SYSTEM IN STUDIES EXPLORING HELICOBACTER-PYLORI TREATMENT REGIMENS

Many antibiotic regimens for treating Helicobacter pylori infection ar e currently used in clinical trials. The reported side-effect profiles of similar anti-Helicobacter therapies vary widely due to the use of different scoring systems. Therefore side-effect data from separate st udies cannot be compared. Only randomized controlled trials will show how side-effect profiles and tolerability really differ between regime ns, but few such studies are available. Therefore a choice of treatmen t based on side-effect profile is not possible at present. We seek sta ndardization of side-effect registration among investigators and propo se a side-effect questionnaire which, if generally accepted, would mak e it possible to compare data between trials.