Comparison of efficacy and safety of levofloxacin-containing versus standard sequential therapy in eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea.
BACKGROUND
Declining of eradication rates for Helicobacter pylori in Korea may be partly from the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance, especially clarithromycin resistance.


AIM
To compare the efficacy and the safety of using 10-day standard sequential therapy and levofloxacin-containing sequential therapy as a first-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori eradication in Korea.


METHODS
A total of 200 patients with proven Helicobacter pylori infection randomly received 10-day standard sequential therapy (n = 100) or levofloxacin-containing sequential therapy (n = 100). The standard sequential therapy group received rabeprazole and amoxicillin for 5 days, followed by rabeprazole, clarithromycin, and metronidazole for 5 more days. The levofloxacin-containing sequential therapy group was treated with rabeprazole and amoxicillin for 5 days, followed by rabeprazole, levofloxacin, and metronidazole for 5 more days.


RESULTS
Intention-to-treat eradication rates were 79.0% and 78.0% for groups of standard sequential and levofloxacin-containing sequential therapy, respectively (P = 0.863). Per-protocol eradication rates were 84.9% and 81.3%, respectively, for these two therapies (P = 0.498). There were no significant differences between the groups in regard to the eradication rates and adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
The 10-day levofloxacin-containing sequential regimen and the standard sequential regimen showed the similar eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori in Korea.
['Lee|Hyuk|H|', 'Hong|Sung Noh|SN|', 'Min|Byung-Hoon|BH|', 'Lee|Jun Haeng|JH|', 'Rhee|Poong-Lyul|PL|', 'Lee|Yong Chan|YC|', 'Kim|Jae J|JJ|']
D000328:Adult D000658:Amoxicillin D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents D001944:Breath Tests D017291:Clarithromycin D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination D005260:Female D016481:Helicobacter Infections D016480:Helicobacter pylori D006801:Humans D064704:Levofloxacin D008297:Male D008795:Metronidazole D008875:Middle Aged D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors D064750:Rabeprazole D056910:Republic of Korea D016896:Treatment Outcome D014508:Urea
Sequential therapy Eradication Helicobacter pylori Levofloxacin