Effect of Single-Shot Antibiotic Treatment on Helicobacter pylori in Patients Undergoing Ulcer Operation

The significance of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer has broadened the spectrum of drug therapy for ulcers. Preliminary results of treatment with bismuth compounds with or without antibiotics and the recent results of therapy with omeprazole combined with antibiotics indicate that treatment with these drugs is superior to therapy using H2 receptor blockers [2,13,24]. After the eradication of H. pylori, fewer recurrences of duodenal ulcer occur in a period of at least 12 months [2,15,24]. Although proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) has a lower rate of ulcer relapse in comparison with conservative drug therapy — based on a follow-up period of up to 20 years — surgical treatment continues to play only a subordinate role in the elective treatment of duodenal ulcer [11,12,16,26,29]. In two studies, antral H. pylori infections were described in 94%–100% of patients 6 months-20 years after PGV [10,19]. In contrast. Steer et al. observed a reduction in H. pylori density 3–12 months after PGV [27].