Randomised trial of endoscopy with testing for Helicobacter pylori compared with non-invasive H pylori testing alone in the management of dyspepsia

Treatment and management of Helicobacter pylori infection

Clinical and basic mechanisms of interaction between Helicobacter pylori and its host have been the subject of numerous publications in the past year. Two additional proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), esomeprazole and rabeprazole, have shown effectiveness in H. pylori eradication when combined with amoxicillin and clarithromycin, and esomeprazole has demonstrated its effectiveness with only one daily dose. Other important recent developments worldwide include evidence-based treatment guidelines established at a European consensus meeting, improved accuracy in the urea breath test and the stool antigen test, new recommendations for second-line therapy, and a greater understanding of antimicrobial resistance in treatment failure. In addition, new studies have confirmed that H. pylori infection and use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin are the major causes of peptic ulcer disease and ulcer bleeding. This paper reviews the results of these studies and their implications for future research.

Helicobacter pylori-Associated Diseases

Since the initial report 20 years ago by Marshall and Warren of an unidentified curved bacillus located on the gastric epithelium of patients with chronic active gastritis, the discovery of Helicobacter pylori and its association with a number of gastrointestinal diseases has revolutionized the field of gastroenterology. Although the association of H. pylori infection with peptic ulcer disease, chronic gastritis, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma has been well documented over the past two decades, other areas remain less clear, including the role of H. pylori in gastropathy associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and both uninvestigated and nonulcer dyspepsia. Although these areas still remain somewhat controversial, recent reports further clarify the role of H. pylori in these conditions. A review of the recent literature regarding H. pylori-associated diseases is presented along with recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of H. pylori infection.

Epidemiology and diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

There have been no major breakthroughs in the field of epidemiology and diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection over the last year, thus for this reason, these two topics will be treated in the same chapter. Information on the incidence of infection, as in the study of Malaty et al. are now being published from long-term cohort follow-ups. The route of transmission of H. pylori remains controversial, with circumstantial evidence for infection via exposure to animals, contaminated water supplies and oral reservoirs being reported. The value of citric acid to improve urea breath test (UBT) results has been documented. A novel stool test has been released on the market and we are awaiting more information, while detection of antibodies in urine gave satisfactory results. However, the most interesting data comes from the study of McColl et al. who clearly proved on a large sample and a 1-year follow-up that the 'test and treat' strategy using UBT, as proposed in the Maastricht Consensus Report, is definitely the method to use.

Helicobacter pylori and nonmalignant disease

Helicobacter pylori eradication has become the recognized standard and widely adopted therapy to cure peptic ulcer disease. Other H. pylori associated conditions with potential benefit from eradication therapy are still subject to clinical investigations. The current state of evidence for these indications is summarized in this article. For NSAID associated peptic ulcer disease the current evidence needs to be grouped in three subsets of clinical conditions: a) H. pylori eradication for prevention of ulcers before starting NSAIDs therapy is advisable; b) eradication during PPI treatment for NSAID associated active ulcer shows no advantage on healing; and c) eradication alone is not sufficient for secondary prevention of ulcer complications induced by NSAID, however it appears to protect from further episodes of aspirin induced bleeding. In nonulcer dyspepsia the latest Cochrane collaboration review supports a small benefit in favour of H. pylori eradication. New insight in the relationship of H. pylori with GERD is provided from clinical trials which show that H. pylori eradication does not influence the clinical course of patients with reflux esophagitis. Finally important new data are presented regarding the management of dyspepsia at the primary care level with the confirmation that the H. pylori 'test and treat' strategy in the appropriate setting is more cost-effective than endoscopy.

Scientific surgery

The BJS is committed to the practice of surgery based on scientific evidence. Each month we will publish a list of randomized trials and meta-analyses collated from English-language publications. A collection of all these papers will be available in the Scientific Surgery archive which will be held on the BJS website together with links to free Medline sites where the full papers can be accessed (see below for details). If you have recently published a randomized trial that has not been featured in Scientific Surgery, the Editors would be pleased to receive a reprint and consider its inclusion.