Efficacy of a novel sequential treatment regimen containing bismuth for Helicobacter pylori eradication in Turkish children

Updated joint ESPGHAN/NASPGHAN guidelines for management of Helicobacter pylori infection in children and adolescents (2023)

BACKGROUND

Evolving epidemiological data and increasing antibiotic resistance mandate an update of the European and North American Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition guidelines.

METHODS

Certainty of evidence and strength of recommendations were rated by experts according to the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. PICO (patient population, intervention, comparator, and outcome) questions were developed and voted on by the group. Recommendations were formulated using the Evidence to Decision framework.

RESULTS

The current literature supports many of the previous recommendations and several new recommendations. Invasive testing with strain antimicrobial susceptibility analysis is recommended for the diagnosis and selection of eradication therapy for H. pylori infection. Molecular methods are acceptable for detection of infection and of antibiotic resistance in gastric biopsy specimens. Reliable, noninvasive tests can be used as a screening method for children with history of gastric cancer in a first-degree relative. When investigating causes of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, testing for H. pylori is no longer recommended. When investigating other diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, or eosinophilic esophagitis, specific diagnostic biopsies for H. pylori infection are not indicated. However, if H. pylori is an incidental finding, treatment may be considered after discussing the risks and benefits. Treatment should be based on antibiotic antimicrobial susceptibility testing and, if unavailable, regimens containing clarithromycin should be avoided.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to decreasing prevalence of infection, increasing challenges with antibiotic resistance, and emerging evidence regarding complications of infection, clinicians must be aware of these recommended changes to appropriately manage H. pylori infection and its clinical sequelae in children.

A randomised controlled clinical study of standard triple therapy, bismuth-based quadruple therapy and sequential therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in children

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Bismuth and non-bismuth quadruple therapy are the guideline-recommended first-line therapy in children with Helicobacter pylori infection in areas with high antibiotic resistance. However, their efficacy in children is uncertain and there are few well-designed studies. Here, we evaluated the eradication rates of standard triple therapy, bismuth-based quadruple therapy and sequential therapy in children with H. pylori infection.

METHODS

A randomised controlled trial was conducted in children infected with H. pylori in West China Second Hospital. They were randomly assigned to 14-day standard triple therapy (omeprazole + amoxicillin + clarithromycin), 14-day bismuth quadruple therapy (bismuth + omeprazole + amoxicillin + clarithromycin) and 10-day sequential therapy (omeprazole + amoxicillin for 5 days followed by omeprazole + clarithromycin + metronidazole for 5 days). The eradication rate was assessed by a 13C-urea breath test 4 to 6 weeks after therapy completion. Symptom improvement and adverse events were compared among the groups.

RESULTS

In total, 132 patients were enrolled. The eradication rates of 14-day standard triple therapy, 14-day bismuth quadruple therapy and 10-day sequential therapy were 70.0%, 78.9% and 50.0% in per-protocol analysis and 63.6%, 68.2% and 43.2% in intention-to-treat analysis, respectively. Symptom improvement and adverse drug event rates were similar in the three groups.

CONCLUSION

The three therapeutic regimens evaluated in this study are equally not recommendable for H. pylori infection treatment due to unsatisfactory eradication rates. The high prevalence of clarithromycin resistance makes the use of clarithromycin-based quadruple therapy not advisable, even in combination with amoxicillin and bismuth salts.

Helicobacter pylori Infections in Children

In the context of epidemiology, host response, disease presentation, diagnosis, and treatment management, the manifestation of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection diverges between children and adults. H. pylori infection stands out as one of the most prevalent bacterial infections globally, and its prevalence in both children and adults is decreasing in many developing countries but some still struggle with a high prevalence of pediatric H. pylori infection and its consequences. The majority of infected children are asymptomatic and pediatric studies do not support the involvement of H. pylori in functional disorders such as recurrent abdominal pain. The pathophysiology of H. pylori infection relies on complex bacterial virulence mechanisms and their interaction with the host immune system and environmental factors. This interaction gives rise to diverse gastritis phenotypes, which subsequently influence the potential development of various gastroduodenal pathologies. In clinical settings, the diagnosis of this infection in childhood requires an upper gastrointestinal endoscopic exam with mucosal biopsy samples for histology and culture, or Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) at the very least. When warranted, eradication treatment should be given when good compliance is expected, and there should be systematic use of a treatment adapted to the antimicrobial susceptibility profile. To combat the burgeoning threat of multidrug resistance, vigilant surveillance of resistance patterns and strategic antibiotic management are paramount.

Therapeutic eradication choices in Helicobacter pylori infection in children

Current recommendations on Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication in children differ from adults. In H. pylori-infected adults, the eradication is always recommended because of the risk to develop gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal associated diseases. Instead, before treating infected children, we should consider all the possible causes and not merely focus on H. pylori infection. Indeed, pediatric international guidelines do not recommend the test and treat strategy in children. Therefore, gastroscopy with antimicrobial susceptibility testing by culture on gastric biopsies should be performed before starting the eradication therapy in children to better evaluate all the possible causes of the symptomatology and to increase the eradication rate. Whether antibiotic susceptibility testing is not available, gastroscopy is anyway recommended to better set any possible cause of symptoms and not simply focus on the presence of H. pylori. In children the lower antibiotics availability compared to adults forces to treat based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing to minimize the unsuccessful rates. The main antibiotics used in children are amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and metronidazole in various combinations. In empirical treatment, triple therapy for 14 days based either on local antimicrobial susceptibility or on personal antibiotic history is generally recommended. Triple therapy with high dose of amoxicillin is a valid alternative choice, either in double resistance or in second-line treatment. Moving from therapeutic regimens used in adults, we could also select quadruple therapy with or without bismuth salts. However, all the treatment regimens often entail unpleasant side effects and lower compliance in children. In this review, the alternative and not yet commonly used therapeutic choices in children were also analyzed.

Current Worldwide Trends in Pediatric Helicobacter pylori Antimicrobial Resistance

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has acquired several resistance mechanisms in order to escape the currently used eradication regimens such as mutations that impair the replication, recombination, and transcription of DNA; the antibiotics capability to interact with protein synthesis and ribosomal activity; the adequate redox state of bacterial cells; or the penicillin-binding proteins. The aim of this review was to identify the differences in pediatric H. pylori antimicrobial-resistance trends between continents and countries of the same continent. In Asian pediatric patients, the greatest antimicrobial resistance was found to metronidazole (>50%), probably due to its wide use for parasitic infections. Aside from the increased resistance to metronidazole, the reports from different Asian countries indicated also high resistance rates to clarithromycin, suggesting that ciprofloxacin-based eradication therapy and bismuth-based quadruple therapy might be optimal choices for the eradication of H. pylori in Asian pediatric population. The scarce evidence for America revealed that H. pylori strains display an increased resistance to clarithromycin (up to 79.6%), but not all studies agreed on this statement. Pediatric patients from Africa also presented the greatest resistance rate to metronidazole (91%), but the results in terms of amoxicillin remain contradictory. Nevertheless, the lowest resistance rates in most of the African studies were found for quinolones. Among European children, the most frequent antimicrobial resistance was also noticed for metronidazole and clarithromycin (up to 59% and 45%) but with a predominance for clarithromycin as compared to other continents. The differences in antibiotic use among continents and countries worldwide is clearly responsible for the discrepancies regarding H. pylori antimicrobial-resistance patterns, emphasizing the crucial role of global judicious antibiotic use in order to control the increasing resistance rates worldwide.

Can Saccharomyces boulardii treat and eradicate Helicobacter pylori among children instead of bismuth?

Aim: The objective of this study is to compare the use of Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) in eradicating Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in children as an alternative to bismuth, which has a limited scope of application due to its side effects. Material and Method: Included in the study were 220 pediatric patients with symptomatic H. pylori gastritis. The patients were randomized into three treatment groups. Patients who received bismuth or S. boulardii in addition to the standard triple therapy for 14 days were compared with the control group who received only triple therapy. Results: Analysis of the bismuth, S. boulardii, and control groups’ treatment success showed that the H. pylori eradication rate was highest among study participants who received bismuth (95.2%), followed by patients who received S. boulardii (92.4%). The most frequent side effects were observed in the patient group that received bismuth (17.5%). Conclusion: Although bismuth continues to be successful in eradicating H. pylori, alternative treatment protocols are necessary because of its side effects and limited use in pediatric patients. S. boulardii can be administered instead when bismuth can not serve as alternative due to its side effects.

Comparing Diagnostic Accuracy of the fliD Gene and the glmM Gene in Helicobacter pylori

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common human bacterial infections, accounting for the infection of half of the world's population. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has high specificity and sensitivity in diagnosing this bacterial infection. Objectives: The present study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the fliD gene and the most widely used glmM gene in the PCR technique. Methods: The research population encompassed patients with indications for upper endoscopy. This cross-sectional study compared the sensitivity and specificity of a proposed gene (fliD) with the most widely used glmM gene to detect the H. pylori infection in tissue samples. Results: The participants encompassed ninety-nine participants aged above 18 years. Their median age was 45.92 ± 13.63 years. The most common complaints of the patients were epigastric pain and heartburn. Our described gold standard detected 61.6% and 38.4% as positive and negative, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 72.1% and 100.0% for the routine PCR (glmM gene) and 80.3% and 94.7% for the proposed PCR (fliD gene). Conclusions: Different genes have been used to detect H. pylori in PCR. The glmM gene is easily used to diagnose the H. pylori infection; however, according to the present findings, the fliD gene has higher sensitivity than the glmM gene. Accordingly, the former can be used as a screening gene for the H. pylori infection in the PCR technique.

Efficacy and safety of bismuth-based quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication in children

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 10-day quadruple therapy containing colloidal bismuth sub-citrate (CBS), esomeprazole (ESO), amoxicillin (AMO), and metronidazole (MET) for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication in children.

METHODS

Monocentric, open-label, prospective, single-arm clinical trial in children aged 6-17 years with H. pylori infection. The study was carried out on consecutive patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms and H. pylori infection confirmed by histology and culture of gastric biopsies. The outcome was evaluated using a ¹³ C-urea breath test 8-10 weeks post-therapy. Adverse events and compliance were evaluated by daily journal and pill counting.

RESULTS

A total of 36 children fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Eight (22.2%) of them had a prior H. pylori eradication treatment. Thirteen (36.1%) patients were infected by a strain resistant to MET and 8 (22.2%) by a strain resistant to both MET and Clarithromycin (CLA). In the intention-to-treat population (ITT), eradication was achieved in 35/36 patients (95%CI: 85%-99%). Twenty-three children reported at least one adverse event (63.8%), mostly mild (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark stool, metallic taste, headache, and rash). The compliance rate was high, with 30 (83.3%) patients taking >90% of the treatment.

CONCLUSION

10-day quadruple therapy containing CBS, ESO, AMO, and MET for H. pylori eradication in children is a safe and very effective solution, especially for previously treated patients and those infected with double resistant strains.

The Relationship between Primary Duodenogastric Reflux and Helicobacter pylori Gastritis in Children

BACKGROUND

Most studies of the relationship between duodenogastric reflux (DGR) and Helicobacter pylori have reported that the presence of DGR decreases H. pylori colonization, while H. pylori infection increases the frequency of DGR by impairing antroduodenal motility. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between primary DGR and the prevalence of H. pylori in children, as well as the degree of colonization and the presence and severity of gastritis.

METHODS

Included in the study were 410 patients between the ages of 2 and 18 years, referred to the pediatric gastroenterology clinic with complaints of dyspepsia, abdominal pain, and nausea/vomiting, who underwent upper gastrointestinal system endoscopic examination and stomach biopsy. The study group included 60 patients with DGR, while 350 non-DGR patients formed the control group.

RESULTS

The mean age of patients with DGR was 15.7 ± 2.1 years, while the mean age of the control group was 14.2 ± 3.8 years (p = 0.02). Of those with DGR, 50 (83.3%) were girls, while in the control group, 215 (61.4%) were girls (p = 0.001). Of patients with DGR, 16 were H. pylori (+) (26.7%), while in the control group, 168 were H. pylori (+) (48%) (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups with respect to H. pylori degree of colonization (p = 0.08). Gastritis was present in 56 (93.3%) patients in the DGR group and 322 (92%) patients in the control group (p = 0.72). A significant difference was found between the 2 groups in terms of gastritis severity (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The mean age of patients with DGR was significantly higher than that of patients without DGR, and DGR was found to be more common in girls. In patients with DGR, H. pylori prevalence was significantly lower than in those without DGR; however, no significant difference was found between the 2 groups with respect to the colonization degree.