Objectives: To find the effectiveness of short-term eradication treatment of Helicobacter pylori in the duodenal ulcer.
Design: Intervention study, open controlled, randomised with parallel groups.
Setting: Three Health Centres in the city of Valencia.
Patients: Patients with a duodenal ulcer diagnosis and a Helicobacter pylori infection who attended the Primary Care physician.
Intervention: The study group (48 patients) was treated for six days with the triple therapy: Amoxycillin, Clarithromycin and Omeprazole. The control group (40 patients) was treated with Omeprazole for six weeks.
Measurements and main results: The observance period lasted a year, after which the Elisa test was conducted. Eradication was successful for 65% of those treated with the triple therapy, but for only 30% of those treated with monotherapy. The consumption of medication for the ulcer during the year of observance was almost three times greater in the group treated with monotherapy than in the triple-therapy group.
Conclusions: Eradicative triple therapy was shown to be more effective and efficient than monotherapy. It is feasible to use it in Primary Care. Eradicative triple therapy is not advisable within six days: a longer treatment period should be employed with this recommendable therapy.