Cefuroxime, levofloxacin, esomeprazole, and bismuth as first-line therapy for eradicating Helicobacter pylori in patients allergic to penicillin

BACKGROUND: Eradicating Helicobacter pylori infection is clinically challenging, notably in cases with penicillin allergy. Cephalosporin could be used in lieu of amoxicillin to eradicate Helicobacter pylori. The current work aimed to assess therapeutic efficacy and safety of a cefuroxime-based quadruple regimen in treatment-naïve individuals with penicillin allergy, as well as patient compliance. METHODS: In the present prospective single-center cohort study, 152 Helicobacter pylori infected individuals with penicillin allergy received eradication therapy with cefuroxime (500 mg twice/day), levofloxacin (500 mg once/day), esomeprazole (20 mg twice/day) and bismuth potassium citrate (220 mg twice/day; 14 days). Safety and compliance were evaluated 1 to 3 days upon eradication. The urea breath test was carried out 8 to 12 weeks upon eradication for efficacy assessment. RESULTS: This quadruple antimicrobial regimen eradicated the pathogen at 85.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 79.6–90.8%), 88.4% (95% CI 83.0–93.2%) and 90.1% (95% CI 85.2–94.4%) in intention-to-treat, modified intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses, respectively, with resistance rates of 4.6 and 40.0% in the background of cefuroxime and levofloxacin, respectively. Meanwhile, 21.3% of patients had adverse reactions, but none was serious. A total of 95.3% of patients showed good compliance. Poor compliance and cefuroxime resistance were detected by uni- or multivariate analyses as independent factors predicting therapeutic failure. Eradication rates in patients with dual levofloxacin and cefuroxime susceptibility, isolated levofloxacin resistance, isolated cefuroxime resistance and dual resistance were 97.2, 84.0, 50.0, and 0%, respectively (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Cefuroxime, levofloxacin, esomeprazole, and bismuth achieved decent efficacy, safety and compliance as first-line antimicrobial regimen in patients with Helicobacter pylori and penicillin allergy.