CLARITHROMYCIN DUAL THERAPY REGIMENS FOR ERADICATION OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI - A REVIEW

Background. Peptic ulcer disease can be cured by eradication of Helico bacter pylori during treatment to heal the ulcer. Dual therapy regimen s were among the first to be granted approval for use. Reports of dual therapies including clarithromycin as the sole antibiotic are reviewe d. Methods. Reports were identified from literature up to May 1997. In formation reviewed included patient population, medical diagnosis, tri al design, eradication reg regimens, and H. pylori eradication rates. The great diversity between studies limits formal meta-analysis but a measure of relative efficacy has been obtained by comparsion of eradic ation rates derived by clearly defined methods and by pooling data. Re sults. Seventy-five reports of trials with 104 dual therapy treatment arms were reviewed. H. pylori eradication rates reported with ranitidi ne bismuth citrate plus clarithromycin range from 70-96% with a pooled observed rate of 85%. With omeprazole plus clarithromycin, reported e radication rates range from 27-90% with the pooled reported rate being 66%. Few data are available with either lansoprazole or ranitidine hy drochloride plus clarithromycin. Conclusion. High H. pylori eradicatio n rates derived by consistent and clearly defined methods have been se en with ranitidine bismuth citrate plus clarithromycin. Lower and more variable rates are reported with clarithromycin and either a proton p ump inhibitor or a histamine H2-receptor antagonist.