THE CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS, ENDOSCOPIC FINDINGS AND THE EFFICACY OF THE BISMUTH-CONTAINING QUADRUPLE REGIMEN INTREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORIGASTRODUODENAL INFLAMMATORY AND ULCER AT CAN THO HOSPITAL OF UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY

Background: Helicobacter pylori causes inflammation of the gastric mucosa and is associated with many upper gastrointestinal diseases, including chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. The treatment of Helicobacter pylori still remains many challenges, because many factors such as the resistance of antibiotics, adverse efects or cost of drugs can affect the treatment’s efficacy. Bismuth-containing quadruple regimen is recommended as a first-line therapy in areas with high clarithromycin and metronidazole resistance as well as an option for patients who have previously failed to respond to Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. Nowadays there have been very few researches on the effectiveness of this regimen including the replacement of Metronidazole by Tinidazole on Helicobacter pylori infection treatment in our country, especially in Can Tho city. Objective: 1. To describe the clinical characteristics and endoscopic findings of patients with Helicobacter pylori gastroduodenal inflammatory and ulcer. 2. To evaluate the efficacy of Bismuth-based therapy for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Patients and methods: From November 2019 to May 2020 we carried out our study on 40 patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. All of patients received a quadruple therapy consisted of Rapeprazole 20 mg bid, Colloidal bismuth subcitrate 120mg qid, Tetracycline 500mg qid and Tinidazol 500mg tid for 14 days. The diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection was performed by Clotest. Four to eight weeks after completion of therapy, Helicobacter pylori status was rechecked by Clotest or C13 urea-breath test. Results: A total of 40 patients with Helicobacter pylori infection were recruited. The most common clinical characteristics was epigastric pain (75%), the most popularly identified endoscopic findings were erythematous gastritis (57.5%) and ulcer (12.5%). The eradication rates of the Bismuth-containing quadruple regimen on intention to treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analysis were 95% and 97.2%, respectively. Adverse effects occurred in 75% of subjects. The common side effects were fatigue, anorexia and nausea. The compliance rate was 97.5%. Conclusion: Bismuth-containing quadruple regimen achieved very high eradication rates. Side effects were common but not serious. The medication adherence rate was high. Key words: Bismuth-containing quadruple regimen, eradication, Helicobacter pylori infection