Impact of H. pylori infection on the management of dyspepsia.

This review article refers to the impact which Helicobacter pylori infection has on the management of dyspepsia. The answer to the question of whether H. pylori eradication is clinically useful in dyspeptic patients or not remains a controversial and debatable subject. Nonetheless, the recent Maastricht 2 - 2000 Consensus Report, taking into account all the available data so far, concluded that a 'test-and-treat' approach to dyspepsia should be used in adult patients with persistent dyspepsia under the age of 45 years (the cutoff age may vary locally), having excluded those with predominantly gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug users, and patients with alarm symptoms or a family history of gastric cancer.