Sequential Therapy for First-Line Helicobacter pylori Eradication: 10-or 14-Day Regimen?

Background & Aim: Standard 10-day sequential therapy is advised as first-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication by current Italian guidelines. Some data suggested that a 14-day regimen may achieve higher eradication rates. This study compared the efficacy of sequential therapy administered for either 10- or 14-days. Methods: This prospective, multicenter, open-label study enrolled patients with H. pylori infection without previous treatment. Patients were receiving a sequential therapy for either 10 or 14 days with esomeprazole 40 mg and amoxicillin 1 g (5 or 7 days) followed by esomeprazole 40 mg, clarithromycin 500 mg and tin idazole 500 mg (5 or 7 days), all given twice daily. Bacterial eradication was checked using C-13-urea breath test. Eradication cure rates were calculated at both Intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses. Results: A total of 291 patients were enrolled, including 146 patients in 10-day and 145 in the 14-day regimen. The eradication rates were 87% (95% CI - 81.5-92.4) and 90.3% (95% CI - 85.5-95.1) at ITT analysis with the 10- and 14-day regimen, respectively, and 92.7% (95% CI - 88.3-97) and 97% (95% CI - 94.2-99.9) at PP analysis (p =0.37). Among patients, who earlier had interrupted therapy, bacterial eradication was achieved in 8 out of 9 who completed the first therapy phase and performed at least >= 3 days of triple therapy in the second phase. Conclusion: This study found that both 10- and 14-day sequential therapies achieved a high eradication rate for first-line H. pylori therapy in clinical practice.