Two-week Triple Therapy has a Higher Helicobacter pylori Eradication Rate Than 1-week Therapy: A Single-center Randomized Study

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To evaluate a high effective and practical regimen for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The 298 patients with H. pylori infection, diagnosed by biopsies performed during the endoscopy, were randomized into two groups. Group 1: Treated for one week with a combination of omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin (OAC), named by OAC-1 group (n = 143); Group 2: OAC-2 group (n = 155) treated for two weeks with OAC. The OAC-1 group was treated with triple therapy of omeprazole 20 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg, and clarithromycin 500 mg bid for 1 week. OAC-2 group was treated likewise, but for two weeks. A(13) C-urea breath test was used to monitor H. pylori after four to eight weeks following therapy. RESULTS: The eradication of infection was 55% and 68% in the OAC-1 and OAC-2 groups, respectively. Moreover, the eradication rates in the two groups were 63% and 75%, respectively. Compared with the OAC-1 group, the efficacy of treatment in the OAC-2 group is significantly higher (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Two-week OAC regimen yields a higher eradication rate of H. pylori, which might be a practical regimen for the eradication of H. pylori.