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Levofloxacin Triple Therapy Best Eradicates Helicobacter Pylori

A levofloxacin-based triple therapy drug regimen counters Helicobacter pylori far more effectively than do dual therapy levofloxacin regimens.

At one-week, the triple therapy achieved a 90 percent eradication rate with no major adverse effects. The eradication rate did not increase with a longer regimen, report researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania, the Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota and the Catholic University, Rome, Italy.

In an open-label study, the researchers compared the efficacy and tolerability of rabeprazole/levofloxacin dual therapies given for five, seven or 10 days and the same combination with amoxycillin added for seven days.

One hundred and sixty patients with infection documented by the C-urea breath test and histology were randomised into four equal groups of 40 patients.

The triple therapy group received levofloxacin 500 mg once daily, rabeprazole 20 mg once daily and amoxycillin one gram twice daily. The other three groups received levofloxacin 500 mg plus rabeprazole 20 mg once daily for either five, seven or 10 days.

Six weeks after treatment ended, patient status was checked with the C-urea breath test.

All patients completed the assigned regimens. Compared with a 90 percent eradication rate at seven days with triple therapy, the dual therapy groups showed eradication rates of 50 percent at five days and 70 percent at seven days, dropping to 65 percent at 10 days.
European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2002;14(12):1309-1312. "Levofloxacin based regimens for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori."

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