Treatment for Eradication of Helicobacter pylori Infection among Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

• Published in: Gut and liver Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 447 - 453
• Main Authors: Norihiro Furusyo, Ahmed H. Walaa, Kunimitsu Eiraku, Kazuhiro Toyoda, Eiichi Ogawa, Hiroaki Ikezaki, Takeshi Ihara, Takeo Hayashi, Mosaburo Kainuma, Masayuki Murata, Jun Hayashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회 30.12.2011
• Subjects: Chronic hepatitis C; Helicobacter pylori
• ISSN: 1976-2283; 2005-1212

Background/Aims: Helicobacter pylori infection causes gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric malignancies, and its eradication has been advocated by many groups. We determined the H. pylori carrier status and eradication rates of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Methods: In total, 76 chronically HCV-infected patients were enrolled for comparison with 228 HCV-noninfected, age- and sex-matched controls. H. pylori infection was confirmed by H. pylori antibody and urea breath testing. Results: The H. pylori infection rate was significantly higher for HCV-infected patients (67 of 76, 88.2%) than for HCV-noninfected controls (158 of 228, 69.3%). Endoscopic fi ndings showed that the rates of gastric ulcers and gastritis were significantly higher for the 67 HCV-infected patients with H. pylori infection (34.3% and 77.6%) than for the 158 HCV-noninfected controls with H. pylori infection (15.2% and 57.6%). Treatment to eradicate H. pylori had a signifi cantly higher success rate for HCV-infected patients (61 of 67, 91.0%) than for HCV-noninfected controls (115 of 158, 72.8%). Conclusions: The markedly high H. pylori eradication rate observed in this study shows that eradication of H. pylori holds promise for the improvement of the long-term health condition of patients with chronic HCV infection. (Gut Liver 2011;5:447-453)