| Sumario: | Objective: It has been postulated that Helicobacter pylori is the most common cause of bacterial infection among the half of the human population infected by bacteria-induced gastritis. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of treatment protocols in terms of duration, ease of use and predisposition towards side effects under consideration of the socioeconomical conditions currently existing in Turkey and the incidence of Helicobacter pylori.Material and Methods: Forty patients, admitted to internal medicine and gastroenterology clinics of the Beyoglu Education and Research Hospital between 2000 and 2001 with complaints of dyspepsia and/or epigastric pain, underwent endoscopic diagnosis of duodenal ulcus, gastritis and/or duodenitis with confirmed Helicobacter pylori infection in antral biopsies. A first group, consisting of 20 patients with Helicobacter pylori (+) and urease (+), received ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg twice a day, clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day, as well as amoxicillin 1000 mg twice a day orally for two weeks. Another 20 patients received ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg twice a day for two weeks and clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day, as well as amoxicillin 1000 mg twice a day for an additional week. Six weeks after each of these treatment protocols, endoscopic examinations and biopsies were performed in order to establish a correlation with prevailing symptoms.Results: Helicobacter pylori eradication was confirmed in 16 of the patients in group I (80%) and 17 of those in group II (85%). Statistically, however, there was no significant difference between the groups (p> 0.05).Conclusion: Two weeks of treatment with ranitidine bismuth citrate with an additional week of claritromycin + amoxicillin was not superior to the two week treatment of ranitidine bismuth citrate + claritromycin + amoxycillin in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. However, it appears that the two weeks treatment may be meaningfully superior histopathologically in terms of improvement of chronic diffuse, superficial and atrophic gastritis, as well as of intestinal metaplasia.
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