Efficacy of furazolidone-based quadruple therapy as rescue treatment for refractory Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a furazolidone-based quadruple rescue regimen in patients with previously failed Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) eradication treatment. A total of 156 patients were recruited from July 2011 to June 2013 at Beijing Hospital and randomized into one of the following 10-day treatment regimens: (1) Esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily, furazolidone 100 mg twice daily, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice daily, bismuth salts 150 mg thrice daily for 10 days. (2) Esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily, levofloxacin 500 mg daily, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice daily, bismuth salts 150 mg thrice daily for 10 days. H.pylori status was re-assessed with the (13)C-urea breath test at 4 weeks after the end of therapy. The intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) H.pylori eradication rates were 83.8% (67/80) and 88.2% (67/76) in the furazolidone-based quadruple group, and 69.7% (53/76) and 73.6% (53/72) in the levofloxacin-based quadruple group respectively (χ(2) = 4.311, 5.100; P = 0.038, 0.024). The 10-day furazolidone-based quadruple therapy is an efficacious rescue strategy in patients with previously failed eradication therapy.