Sequential therapy is statistically significant compared with standard therapy for eradicating H. pylori infection and is statistically significantly more effective in patients with clarithromycin-resistant strains. Side effects are similar with both treatment regimens and are rarely severe enough to cause discontinuation of therapy. ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00403364.

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Objective To do a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing sequential therapy for eradication of Helicobacter pylori with pre-existing and new therapies, thus providing a glimpse of eradication success worldwide.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Study selection Randomised controlled trials in previously untreated adults, in which sequential therapy was compared with a pre-existing or new therapy. Data sourcesResults 46 randomised controlled trials were reviewed and analysed. 5666 patients were randomised to sequential therapy and 7866 to other (established and new) treatments. The overall eradication rate of sequential therapy was 84.3% (95% confidence interval 82.1% to 86.4%). Sequential therapy was superior to seven day triple therapy (relative risk 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.25; I 2 =29.3%; number needed to treat 6 , 95% confidence interval 5% to 7%), marginally superior to 10 day triple therapy (1.11, 1.04 to 1.19; I 2 = 67.2%; NNT 10, 7 to 15), but not superior to 14 day triple therapy (1.00, 0.94 to 1.06; I 2 =54.3%), bismuth based therapy (1.01, 0.95 to 1.06; I 2 =21.1%), and non-bismuth based therapy (0.99, 0.94 to 1.05; I 2 =52.3%). Data on eradication according to pre-treatment antimicrobial susceptibility testing were available in eight studies, and sequential therapy was able to eradicate 72.8% (61.6% to 82.8%) of the strains resistant to clarithromycin.Conclusions Eradication rates with pre-existing and new therapies for H pylori are suboptimal. Regional monitoring of resistance rates should help to guide treatment, and new agents for treatment need to be developed.

H pylori eradication is effective in treating approximately 75% of patients with early stage gastric lymphoma. Long-term follow-up evaluation of these patients is needed to detect early lymphoma relapse or progression.

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Background: Standard triple therapies are the most used treatment in clinical practice. However, a critical fall in the H pylori eradication rate following these therapies has been observed in the last few years. The sequential regimen is a novel, promising therapeutic approach. Objectives: To evaluate the available data on the sequential therapy regimen. Methods: A pooled-data analysis of all studies on the sequential regimen was performed. The eradication rate was calculated according to gastroduodenal pathology, proton pump inhibitor used, antibiotic resistance, as well as setting (paediatric or geriatric patients). Compliance, side effects, and cost implications were also evaluated. Results: Overall, more than 1800 patients have been treated with the sequential regimen. Such a therapy was superior to 7-10 days triple therapies in paediatric, adult and elderly patients, achieving an eradication rate constantly higher than 90% at ITT analysis. Although primary clarithromycin resistance reduced the efficacy of such a therapy, a success rate significantly higher than that observed with the standard 7-10 days triple therapies was found. Conclusion: The 10-day sequential treatment regimen achieves higher eradication rates than standard triple therapies.

ObjectiveThe best approach for Helicobacter pylori management remains unclear. An audit process is essential to ensure clinical practice is aligned with best standards of care.DesignInternational multicentre prospective non-interventional registry starting in 2013 aimed to evaluate the decisions and outcomes in H. pylori management by European gastroenterologists. Patients were registered in an e-CRF by AEG-REDCap. Variables included demographics, previous eradication attempts, prescribed treatment, adverse events and outcomes. Data monitoring was performed to ensure data quality. Time-trend and geographical analyses were performed.Results30 394 patients from 27 European countries were evaluated and 21 533 (78%) first-line empirical H. pylori treatments were included for analysis. Pretreatment resistance rates were 23% to clarithromycin, 32% to metronidazole and 13% to both. Triple therapy with amoxicillin and clarithromycin was most commonly prescribed (39%), achieving 81.5% modified intention-to-treat eradication rate. Over 90% eradication was obtained only with 10-day bismuth quadruple or 14-day concomitant treatments. Longer treatment duration, higher acid inhibition and compliance were associated with higher eradication rates. Time-trend analysis showed a region-dependent shift in prescriptions including abandoning triple therapies, using higher acid-inhibition and longer treatments, which was associated with an overall effectiveness increase (84%–90%).ConclusionManagement of H. pylori infection by European gastroenterologists is heterogeneous, suboptimal and discrepant with current recommendations. Only quadruple therapies lasting at least 10 days are able to achieve over 90% eradication rates. European recommendations are being slowly and heterogeneously incorporated into routine clinical practice, which was associated with a corresponding increase in effectiveness.

SUMMARYBackground: Eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori with standard triple therapy are disappointing, and studies from several countries confirm this poor performance. Aim: To assess the eradication rate of a new sequential treatment regimen compared with conventional triple therapy for the eradication of H. pylori infection. Methods: One thousand and forty-nine dyspeptic patients were studied prospectively. H. pylori-infected patients were randomized to receive 10-day sequential therapy [rabeprazole (40 mg daily) plus amoxicillin (1 g twice daily) for the first 5 days, followed by rabeprazole (20 mg), clarithromycin (500 mg) and tinidazole (500 mg) twice daily for the remaining 5 days]