Comparing the Efficacy of Hybrid, High-dose Dual and Bismuth Quadruple Therapies

Efficacies of Hybrid, High-dose Dual and Bismuth Quadruple Therapies for the First-line Anti-H Pylori Treatment and Tetracycline-levofloxacin Quadruple Therapy for the Second-line Anti-H Pylori Treatment - a Multicentre Randomized Trial

Both hybrid and high-dose dual therapies developed by the scholars from Taiwan can achieve a high eradication rate for clarithromycin-resistant strains, and have a great potential to replace bismuth quadruple therapy in the treatment of H. pylori infection.

Bismuth quadruple therapy has been recommended as a choice of the first-line treatment for H. pylori infection in several important international consensuses. However, it is associated with a high frequency of adverse events. Both hybrid and high-dose dual therapies developed by the scholars from Taiwan can achieve a high eradication rate for clarithromycin-resistant strains, and have a great potential to replace bismuth quadruple therapy in the treatment of H. pylori infection. In the second-line treatment, tetracycline-levofloxacin quadruple therapy developed by our study group can achieve a higher eradication rate than levofloxacin triple therapy for salvage treatment of hybrid therapy. However, whether the new therapy can be a promising rescue treatment for bismuth quadruple or high-dose dual therapy remains unanswered.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Consecutive H pylori-infected outpatients, at least 20 years of age, with endoscopically proven peptic ulcer diseases or gastritis

Exclusion Criteria:

• previous H pylori-eradication therapy
• ingestion of antibiotics or bismuth within the prior 4 weeks
• patients with allergic history to the medications used
• patients with previous gastric surgery
• the coexistence of serious concomitant illness (for example, decompensated liver cirrhosis, uremia)
• pregnant women