Treating Helicobacter pylori infection in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.

Helicobacter pylori eradication cures most peptic ulcers and non-atrophic chronic gastritis, and may potentially prevent over 70% of gastric cancers. In the late 1980s, shortly after the discovery of H. pylori, eradication therapy was established based on the use of two antibiotics (amoxicillin and clarithromycin) and one proton-pump inhibitor for 7 or 10 days (OCA7, OCA10). This therapy, recommended during the first Maastricht Consensus Conference, obtained eradication rates above 90%, and was equally effective everywhere around the world. However, over time, H. pylori has developed resistance to several antibiotics.