The Effect of Eradication of Helicobacter pylori upon the Duodenal Ulcer Recurrence: – A 24 month follow-up study –

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of eradication of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) in the patients with duodenal ulcer(Du) upon the DU recurrence. METHODS: This study was performed for 190 patients with DU. Four different methods-microscopy of Gram stained mucosal smear, specific culture, biopsy urease test, histology of H&E staining-were taken for identifying colonization of H. pylori before treatment, and for finding the eradication of H. pylori 4 weeks after completion of therapy in each treatment group (cometidine, omeprazole, colloidal bismuth subcitrate(CBS), CBS and metronidazole double therapy, CBS. metronidazole and amoxicillin triple therapy). To detect DU recurrence, the gastroscopy was performed at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after therapy. RESULTS: The eradication rate of the cimetidine group, the omeprazole group, and the CBS group were 0%, 7.7%, 0%, respectively, and that of the double therapy group and the triple therapy group were 44.4% and 89.3%, respectively. Seventy three patients who were followed up for 2 years were categorized into two groups according to the eradication of H. pylori. The recurrence rate was 3.2% both in 1 year and 2 years later in the former group-one consisting of 31 patients with H. pylori eradicated, while the recurrence rate was 57.1% in 1 year and 78.6% in 2 years later, in the latter group-the other of 42 patients with H. pylori not eradicated. CONCLUSION: The eradication of H. pylori in patients with DU reduces the recurrence of DU.