Choice of treatment is strongly dependent on antibiotic resistance rates. In some countries, triple therapy with a proton-pump inhibitor, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin is still the best option, but eradication results fall short of what would be desired (90–95%) in countries with clarithromycin resistance >20%, bismuth-containing quadruple therapy, or nonbismuth sequential or concomitant therapies may then be the preferred option. Newer antibiotic regimens are awaited. Vaccination would be the best option, especially for developing countries, but little progress has been

made in designing a vaccine. A considerable amount of work has been conducted over the last year assessing many issues around Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. These focussed primarily on assessing the efficacy Smoothened Agonist order of current standard triple

therapy and exploring new first-line treatments. There was also progress in investigating antibiotic resistance rates, and the rescue therapies required to deal with ensuing treatment failures. There has also been an evolution in the use of adjunctive therapies. This article will address the published literature over the last year pertaining to these topics. Numerous studies over the last year have assessed the efficacy of standard triple therapy with amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and a proton-pump inhibitor Lapatinib clinical trial for the eradication of H. pylori, which have been perceived to be in decline in recent years. One such study looked at cure rates reported in all published literature from Spain between 1997 and 2008 and found that while cure rates have in fact been stable over that period, they remain inadequate with a mean cure rate of 80% by intention-to-treat and 83% by per-protocol [1]. Similar results were obtained from a multicenter study in Japan that revealed an eradication rate

of 80.7% with an incidence of adverse drug reactions of 4.4% [2]. Other studies have looked at whether the efficacy of triple therapy can be improved by prolonging the course of therapy. In China, a study of shorter regimens showed eradication rates of 76, 89, and 91% for 3-day, 5-day, and 7-day regimens, respectively [3]. Increasing efficacy by prolongation of therapy was also noted in Greek patients, selleck chemicals with eradication rates of 74.5% for 7 days, 80.6% for 10 days, and 90.2% for 14 days of therapy [4]. Another study showed that efficacy could be maintained when lower doses of medications were given, which reduced costs and side effects with cure rates of 77.2% for 10 mg rabeprazole, 500 mg amoxicillin, and 250 mg clarithromycin vs 78.9% for the standard 20 mg, 1 g, and 500 mg doses of these drugs [5]. Regardless of the type of therapy used, study from Canada showed widespread failure to comply with test and treat in up to 10% of cases and a failure to confirm eradication in 32% [6].