American Journal of Gastroenterology
ISSN 0002-9270
C
2007 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology
doi: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2007.01393.x
Published by Blackwell Publishing
American College of Gastroenterology Guideline
on the Management of Helicobacter pylori Infection
William D. Chey, M.D., F.A.C.G., A.G.A.F., F.A.C.P.,
1
Benjamin C.Y. Wong, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.G., F.A.C.P.
2
,
and the Practice Parameters Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology
1
University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and
2
Department of Medicine, University
of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) remains a prevalent, worldwide, chronic infection. Though the prevalence of this
infection appears to be decreasing in many parts of the world, H. pylori remains an important factor linked to the
development of peptic ulcer disease, gastric malignanc and dyspeptic symptoms. Whether to test for H. pylori in
patients with functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), patients taking nonsteroidal
antiinflammatory drugs, with iron deficiency anemia, or who are at greater risk of developing gastric cancer
remains controversial. H. pylori can be diagnosed by endoscopic or nonendoscopic methods. A variety of factors
including the need for endoscopy, pretest probability of infection, local availability, and an understanding of the
performance characteristics and cost of the individual tests influences choice of evaluation in a given patient.
Testing to prove eradication should be performed in patients who receive treatment of H. pylori for peptic ulcer
disease, individuals with persistent dyspeptic symptoms despite the test-and-treat strategy, those with H.
pylori-associated MALT lymphoma, and individuals who have undergone resection of early gastric cancer. Recent
studies suggest that eradication rates achieved by first-line treatment with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI),
clarithromycin, and amoxicillin have decreased to 70–85%, in part due to increasing clarithromycin resistance.
Eradication rates may also be lower with 7 versus 14-day regimens. Bismuth-containing quadruple regimens for
7–14 days are another first-line treatment option. Sequential therapy for 10 days has shown promise in Europe but
requires validation in North America. The most commonly used salvage regimen in patients with persistent H.
pylori is bismuth quadruple therapy. Recent data suggest that a PPI, levofloxacin, and amoxicillin for 10 days is
more effective and better tolerated than bismuth quadruple therapy for persistent H. pylori infection, though this
needs to be validated in the United States.
(Am J Gastroenterol 2007;102:1808–1825)
INTRODUCTION AND PREAMBLE
Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) remains one of the most com-
mon worldwide human infections and is associated with a
number of important upper gastrointestinal (GI) conditions
including chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric
malignancy. The prevalence of H. pylori is closely tied to
socioeconomic conditions and accordingly, this infection is
more common in developing countries than in developed
countries such as the United States (1). Regardless, it has been
estimated that 30–40% of the U.S. population is infected with
H. pylori (2). The vast majority of individuals acquire this in-
fection during childhood. Based upon this observation and
the fact that H. pylori infection rates in children are decreas-
ing, it is likely that the population-based prevalence of H.
pylori in the United States will continue to fall in the coming
years.
Guidelines for the management of H. pylori infection were
last published by the American College of Gastroenterol-
ogy in 1998 (3). Since that time, a significant amount of
new information regarding the management of this infection
has become available. Because of this, the authors, Practice
Parameters Committee, and Governing Board of the Amer-
ican College of Gastroenterology have produced this up-
dated management guideline to assist clinicians caring for
patients with H. pylori infection. To accomplish this task, lit-
erature searches using Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane
Database were performed as part of the preparation for this
management guideline. The document makes summary rec-
ommendations (italicized statements) followed by a more de-
tailed description of the supporting evidence and rationale
for arriving at the topline recommendation. As with all guide-
lines, this document attempts to provide the preferred, but not
the only, means by which to diagnose and treat H. pylori in-
fection. Specific issues, which may or may not be discussed in
this document, will always influence the best course of action
to be taken in an individual patient.
WHAT ARE THE CLEAR INDICATIONS FOR DIAGNOSING
AND TREATING H. PYLORI INFECTION?
Recommendation
• Testing for H. pylori infection is indicated in patients with
active peptic ulcer disease, a past history of documented
peptic ulcer, or gastric MALT lymphoma.
1808
Guideline on the Management of Helicobacter pylori Infection
1809
• The test-and-treat strategy for H. pylori infection is a
proven management strategy for patients with uninvesti-
gated dyspepsia who are under the age of 55 yr and have
no “alarm features” (bleeding, anemia, early satiety, unex-
plained weight loss, progressive dysphagia, odynophagia,
recurrent vomiting, family history of GI cancer, previous
esophagogastric malignancy).
Although the majority of those infected remain clinically
silent, there are a number of well-established clinical con-
ditions that have been associated with H. pylori infection.
The indications for the diagnosis and treatment of H. pylori
infection are listed in Table 1.
DUODENAL AND GASTRIC ULCER. There is a clear link
between H. pylori infection and the pathogenesis of peptic
ulcer disease (PUD) (4). Given the overwhelming evidence
supporting this relationship, few would question the clinical
and economic merits of H. pylori eradication in a patient with
PUD. A meta-analysis including 24 randomized controlled
trials and randomized comparative trials including 2,102 pa-
tients with PUD revealed that the 12-month ulcer remission
rate was 97% (95% CI 95–99%) for gastric ulcer, and 98%
(95% CI 97–99%) for duodenal ulcer in patients success-
fully eradicated of H. pylori infection, compared with 61%
(95% CI 52–70%) for gastric ulcer and 65% (95% CI 50–
65%) for duodenal ulcer in those with persistent infection
(5). Recently, a meta-analysis by Ford et al., including 52 tri-
als, demonstrated that H. pylori eradication therapy yielded
superior healing rates for duodenal ulcer but not gastric ulcer
compared with short courses of ulcer healing medications
such as histamine-2 receptor antagoinists (H
2
RAs) or pro-
ton pump inhibitors (PPIs). This study found that H. pylori
eradication was superior to no treatment in preventing duo-
denal and gastric ulcer recurrence. H. pylori eradication was
also superior to maintenance therapy with acid suppressive
medications in preventing gastric ulcer but not duodenal ul-
cer recurrence (6). In a Markov model analysis, H. pylori
eradication was cost-effective for duodenal ulcer over 1 yr
and gastric ulcer over 2 yr. The authors concluded that H.
Table 1.
Indications for Diagnosis and Treatment of H. pylori
Established
• Active peptic ulcer disease (gastric or duodenal ulcer)
• Confirmed history of peptic ulcer disease (not previously
treated for H. pylori)
• Gastric MALT lymphoma (low grade)
• After endoscopic resection of early gastric cancer
• Uninvestigated dyspepsia (depending upon H. pylori
prevalence)
Controversial
• Nonulcer dyspepsia
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Persons using nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs
• Unexplained iron deficiency anemia
• Populations at higher risk for gastric cancer
pylori eradication reduces the recurrence of PUD and is cost-
effective (6).
GASTRODUODENAL BLEEDING. Sharma and col-
leagues performed a meta-analysis to compare the effective-
ness of eradicating H. pylori infection with other approaches
to prevent recurrent ulcer hemorrhage as well as a cost mini-
mization analysis to determine the least costly strategy. They
found that H. pylori treatment decreased recurrent bleeding
by 17% and 4% compared with ulcer healing treatment alone
(bismuth 120 mg q.i.d to ulcer healing, ranitidine 300 mg
q.h.s. for 16 wk or omeprazole 20 mg q.d. for 2 wk) or ulcer
healing treatment followed by maintenance therapy (raniti-
dine 150–300 mg q.h.s. or omeprazole 20 mg q.d. for 12–
24 months), respectively (7). A 5-yr prospective, randomized,
controlled study by Liu et al. in 82 Taiwanese patients with
a history of ulcer bleeding demonstrated that maintenance
acid suppression was not routinely necessary to prevent ulcer
recurrence after successful H. pylori eradication and ulcer
healing (8). Results from these studies have been confirmed
by a recent Cochrane systematic review (9)
Gastric MALT Lymphoma
A growing body of literature from nonrandomized observa-
tional trials supports the importance of H. pylori infection
in the pathogenesis and natural history of mucosa associated
lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (10, 11). For localized
gastric MALT lymphoma, H. pylori treatment achieves tu-
mor regression in 60–90% of patients (11). Several recent
prospective studies have addressed the long-term outcome of
gastric MALT lymphoma after eradication of H. pylori infec-
tion. These reports suggest that H. pylori eradication provides
durable remission in patients with low-grade MALT lym-
phoma with recurrence rates of 3–13% over 5 yr of follow-
up (12–14). Finally, Chen and colleagues evaluated a trial of
24 patients with high-grade transformed tumors (diffuse large
B-cell with features of MALT, DLBCL [MALT] lymphoma).
H. pylori eradication led to complete remission in 64% (95%
CI 42–86%) (14). Amongst patients with complete remission
following H. pylori cure, relapse rates were 0% for high-grade
MALT lymphoma after a median follow-up of more than 5 yr.
This is one of the first studies to suggest that H. pylori erad-
ication may offer a treatment option not only for low grade
MALToma but also for early-stage H. pylori-positive gastric
DLBCL (MALT).
Uninvestigated Dyspepsia
The test-and-treat strategy provides an evidence-based man-
agement strategy for patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia
who are under the age of 55 yr and have no alarm features.
For a detailed discussion of the role of H. pylori eradication
in the management of uninvestigated dyspepsia, the reader is
referred to the American College of Gastroenterology’s re-
cently published Practice Guideline on the Management of
Dyspepsia (15).
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Chey and Wong
WHAT ARE THE AREAS OF CONTROVERSY FOR WHICH
THERE MIGHT BE BENEFIT OF ERADICATING H. PYLORI
INFECTION?
• There is evidence to suggest that a small but significant
subgroup of patients with functional dyspepsia will expe-
rience clinical benefit following H. pylori eradication.
• There is no clear evidence to support that eradicating
H. pylori consistently worsens or improves GERD symp-
toms. Treatment of H. pylori should not be withheld related
to concerns of creating or worsening GERD.
• H. pylori and NSAIDs are independent risk factors for the
development of PUD. Therefore, regardless of whether or
not a patient is taking an NSAID , all patients with a peptic
ulcer should be tested and when infected, treated for H.
pylori.
• The available data support an association between H.
pylori infection and iron deficiency but do not prove cause
and effect.
• Though there is some evidence to suggest that curing H.
pylori may prevent progression of intestinal metaplasia to
gastric adenocarcinoma, there is no definitive population-
based data to suggest that H. pylori eradication reduces
the incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma. Pursuing H.
pylori in patients at increased risk for gastric cancer
should be individualized taking into consideration co-
morbid illness, which might have bearing on the benefits
offered by treatment, and patient preferences.
Functional Dyspepsia (FD)
Whether eradicating H. pylori infection is of clinical and eco-
nomic benefit in patients with dyspeptic symptoms who have
undergone a negative structural evaluation remains contro-
versial. Whereas some studies observed a beneficial effect
(16–19), others have failed to confirm such benefits (20–24).
The most recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews have
reported that eradication of H. pylori infection offers a small
but statistically significant clinical benefit (therapeutic gain
of H. pylori eradication over placebo
= 8%, NNT = 15, RR of
remaining symptomatic 0.91 [95% CI 0.86–0.95]) and may
be cost-effective in FD (25, 26).
Eradicating H. pylori in patients with FD may offer ben-
efits beyond symptom improvement. Studies have reported
that peptic ulcers develop in 1–14% of patients with FD
when followed over extended periods (16, 27–29). A placebo-
controlled study from Taiwan found that H. pylori eradica-
tion reduced the 1 yr incidence of peptic ulcer in patients
with ulcer-like functional dyspepsia but not in those with
dysmotility-like or unclassifiable FD (28). No such data from
the United States are currently available.
With these thoughts in mind, the decision of whether to test
for and treat H. pylori in FD should be individualized taking
into consideration patient concerns as well as the presence
of risk factors for PUD (age, NSAID use) (29) and gastric
malignancy (ethnic background, family history of gastric ma-
lignancy).
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Despite a large number of studies that have addressed this is-
sue, the relationship between H. pylori infection and GERD
remains incompletely defined. It is known that H. pylori in-
fection results in different levels of severity and patterns of
gastric inflammation in different individuals. This in turn can
lead to varied effects on gastric acid secretion. For exam-
ple, it has been proposed that patients with antral predom-
inant gastritis, the phenotype most commonly encountered
in the United States, exhibit increased acid secretion and
are at increased risk of developing duodenal ulcer. On the
other hand, those with corpus-predominant or pangastritis
tend toward decreased acid secretion and a greater risk of
developing gastric cancer (30). As such, eradication of this
infection can be associated with a wide spectrum of effects on
gastric acid secretion. Whether a patient has abnormal lower
esophageal sphincter function or esophageal clearance mech-
anisms, which would predispose to a greater risk of GERD,
undoubtedly also affects outcomes. In this way, one can envi-
sion scenarios where eradication of H. pylori infection could
be associated with worsening, no change, or improvement in
GERD. A recent study found that antral predominant gas-
tritis was the most common H. pylori associated phenotype
in functional dyspepsia patients from western countries and
that eradication therapy in this subgroup of patients led to
overall improvements in heartburn and regurgitation at 1 yr
of follow-up (31).
Some investigators have suggested that H. pylori status is
inversely related to the likelihood of suffering with GERD
(32). Unfortunately, the heterogeneity of the available data
makes it difficult to arrive at a confident conclusion on this
matter. A recent systematic review pointed out that geograph-
ical location of the studies contributes to the confusion, as
GERD patients from the Far East tended to have a lower
prevalence of H. pylori than patients from Europe or North
America (33).
Regarding the issue of whether eradication of H. pylori
infection may provoke or worsen GERD, a recent system-
atic review by Raghunath et al. including 27 studies con-
cluded that the available evidence does not support an as-
sociation between H. pylori eradication and the develop-
ment of reflux esophagitis or worsening of heartburn in
patients with a duodenal ulcer (34). Perhaps more rele-
vant to North America, Laine and colleagues performed a
post hoc analysis of 8 double-blind, prospective U.S. trials
of H. pylori therapy for patients with active DU or a his-
tory of DU to quantify the development of GERD symp-
toms in patients without a prior history of symptomatic
GERD or esophagitis (35). They assessed whether GERD
symptoms worsened in patients with prior symptomatic
GERD. Their analysis found no difference in the likeli-
hood of developing new GERD symptoms or esophagitis in
individuals cured of H. pylori infection compared to those
with persistent infection. Further, they found that H. pylori
eradication was not associated with a worsening of symp-
toms in those with preexisting GERD. Recent evidence from
Guideline on the Management of Helicobacter pylori Infection
1811
North America and Europe suggests that esophageal acid ex-
posure, the severity of erosive esophagitis, and efficacy of
proton pump inhibitor therapy is similar in GERD patients
with and without H. pylori infection (36–38).
There is no clear evidence to support that a test-and-treat
strategy for H. pylori consistently worsens or improves GERD
symptoms. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that ther-
apy for H. pylori should not be withheld related to concerns
of creating or worsening GERD.
Persons Using Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs
(NSAIDs) or Aspirin
The interaction between H. pylori infection and NSAIDs in
the pathogenesis of PUD remains controversial. Studies at-
tempting to clarify this interaction have yielded conflicting
results (39–44). The discordant results can, in part, be ex-
plained by differences in study methodology, outcome mea-
sures, definitions of ulcer, and patient populations. It is also
important to realize that there may be differences in clini-
cal outcomes based upon whether a patient has or has not
previously taken NSAIDs and whether one is contemplating
primary or secondary prophylaxis (40).
From a practical standpoint, the clinician is interested in
knowing whether testing for and treating H. pylori in pa-
tients taking an NSAID will reduce the risk of developing
ulcers or more importantly, ulcer complications. A meta-
analysis, which included data from 25 observational stud-
ies, demonstrated that both H. pylori infection and nonse-
lective NSAID use are independent risk factors for the de-
velopment of peptic ulcer and ulcer bleeding. Moreover, this
meta-analysis also suggested that these risk factors are at
least additive and possibly synergistic for the development
of peptic ulcer and ulcer bleeding (41). In another recent
meta-analysis of five studies including 939 patients, H. py-
lori eradication was associated with a reduced incidence
of peptic ulcer in patients taking NSAIDs (OR 0.43, 95%
CI 0.20–0.93). Subanalyses demonstrated that risk reduc-
tion was evident in NSAID-na¨ıve individuals (OR 0.26, 95%
CI 0.14–0.49) but not for those previously taking NSAIDs
(OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.53–1.72) (42). While H. pylori eradica-
tion may reduce the risk of PUD, it does not eliminate the
risk of ulcer development or complications in those using an
NSAID.
At present, it seems reasonable to recommend that any pa-
tient with an ulcer should be tested for H. pylori regardless
of whether or not he/she is taking an NSAID or aspirin (44).
There are some data to support the identification and treat-
ment of H. pylori in NSAID-na¨ıve patients who are to be
treated with an NSAID (45). To date, similar data demon-
strating the utility of H. pylori eradication in aspirin-na¨ıve
patients starting aspirin are not available. In patients already
taking an NSAID, H. pylori eradication appears to be less
effective than PPI therapy in reducing the risk of peptic ul-
cer recurrence or ulcer bleeding (6 month rate of recurrent
bleeding 18.8% for H. pylori therapy vs 4.4% for PPI therapy,
P
= 0.005). On the other hand, there is evidence to suggest
that recurrent ulcer bleeding in persons using low-dose as-
pirin is similar 6 months after H. pylori eradication or with
PPI therapy (6 month rate of recurrent bleeding 1.9% for H.
pylori therapy vs 0.9% for PPI therapy, P
= NS) (46). For
patients with a history of an ulcer complication who require
subsequent therapy with an NSAID or aspirin, H. pylori erad-
ication alone may not be a sufficient risk reduction strategy.
Co-therapy with a PPI in such patients at high risk for re-
currence of an ulcer complication has been recommended
(44).
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