Efficacy and safety of bismuth quadruple regimens containing tetracycline or furazolidone for initial eradication of Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection can cause chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and even gastric cancer, so effective eradication is critical. This study compared the efficacy and safety of bismuth quadruple regimens including either tetracycline or furazolidone for initial eradication. Patients newly diagnosed with H pylori infection from January 2020 to January 2021 were randomly assigned to receive either the tetracycline-containing regimen (n = 116) or furazolidone-containing regimen (n = 168). Both regimens included 1 proton pump inhibitor (rabeprazole 20 mg, or esomeprazole 20 mg, or eprazole 5 mg), colloidal pectin bismuth 300 mg, and amoxicillin 1000 mg in addition to tetracycline 1.0 g or furazolidone 0.1 g. All drugs were administered twice daily for 12 consecutive days. The (14)C urea breath test was used for diagnosis, and re-test negativity at one-month follow-up was considered successful eradication. Adverse events were recorded during follow-up by telephone interview. In total, 109 patients in the tetracycline group and 157 in the furazolidone group were re-examined at 1 month. In the tetracycline group, 101 patients tested negative at follow-up, yielding an eradication rate of 92.7% according to per-protocol analysis and 87.1% by intention-to-treat analysis. In the furazolidone group, 141 patients tested negative, yielding eradication rates of 89.8% by PP and 83.9% by ITT. Eradication rates did not differ significantly between regimens (per-protocol: χ(2) = 0.637, P = .517; intention-to-treat: χ(2) = 0.537, P = .501). However, total adverse events incidence was significantly lower in the tetracycline group (20.2% vs 37.6%; χ(2) = 9.193, P = .003). Both bismuth quadruple regimens produce high initial eradication, but the tetracycline regimen appears safer.