Galenical formulations of amoxicillin/clavulanate and eradication of Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the efficiency of two amoxicillin/clavulanate galenical formulations (suspension and capsules) in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer patients. Design: Two groups of patients suffering from peptic ulcer and with positive antrum and corpus culture for H. pylori were treated with: (1) amoxicillin/clavulanate capsules and (2) amoxicillin/clavulanate suspension. The dosage in both groups was 500/125 mg orally every 8 h for 21 days. Omeprazole was also administered (40 mg/day for 30 days) in both groups. Follow-up visits were scheduled 8 days after antibiotic therapy and 3 months later. Methods: Thirty-nine adult patients with peptic ulcer disease diagnosed by endoscopy and with positive H. pylori culture in the biopsy specimens of gastric antrum and corpus were studied. Results: Eight days after conclusion of antibiotic treatment, seven out of 21 (33%) patients in the capsule group had H. pylori eradicated from both antrum and corpus and five out of 21 (24%) patients had H. pylori eradicated from the antrum but not from the corpus. H. pylori was eradicated from both antrum and corpus in 10 out of 15 patients (66%) in the suspension group. Three months later all six patients in the suspension group examined were still free from H. pylori. In contrast, all patients in the capsule group had positive culture biopsies again. Conclusions: The suspension form achieved better results than the capsule form in the eradication of H. pylori from the stomach.