Influence of acotiamide on (13)C-urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori diagnosis

The Helicobacter pylori infection and functional dyspepsia are often coexisted. The effect of acotiamide, a drug for functional dyspepsia, on the result of Helicobacter pylori diagnosis has yet to be studied. We evaluated the influence of acotiamide on the results of Helicobacter pylori diagnosis in the (13)C-urea breath test. Twenty patients with Helicobacter pylori-positive functional dyspepsia were treated with 100 mg of acotiamide three times a day for two weeks. Changes in (13)C-urea breath test were investigated before and after administration, and two weeks after administration as the follow-up period. The (13)C-urea breath test and the medical questionnaire of modified frequency scale for the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were conducted at every period. Nineteen patients were included for analysis. No patients showed negative in (13)C-urea breath test at Weeks 2 and 4. On the symptom scale, dyspepsia and total scores decreased from Week 0 to Week 2 and increased from Week 2 to Week 4, and the improvement rates of the dyspepsia score at Week 2 was 63%. In conclusion, we confirmed that acotiamide is unlikely to influence the result of (13)C-urea breath test and it may improve the symptoms of functional dyspepsia during Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment.