Discontinuation rates of Helicobacter pylori treatment regimens: A meta-analysis

We conducted a meta-analysis to determine what factors in treatment regimen s for Helicobacter pylori are associated with increased discontinuation rat es. Studies were selected from the 1990-1996 MEDLINE data base, and referen ces in published articles and reviews were obtained. Each article was unifo rmally abstracted for factors that could potentially affect dropout rates. Drug regimens with high numbers of doses per day had highest dropout rates (p=0.0001). The total dropout rate was lowest for regimens containing a pro ton pump inhibitor (OR = 0.75, CI 0.57, 0.98). The rate was high in regimen s containing a bismuth compound due to side effects (OR = 2.79, CI 1.78, 4. 36). The main finding was that drug regimens for eradication of H. pylori t hat have a high number of doses per day result in higher discontinuation ra tes than regimens with fewer doses per day.