Aim: Primary resistance of H pylori strains to antimicrobials has direct therapeutical implications. For this reason we studied the prevalence of primary resistance of H pylori of Sweden, in a regional setting.
Material and methods: A total of 244 patients referred to our endoscopy unit have been evaluated prospectively for the occurrence of H pylori. Helicobacter pylori infection was established by a positive rapid urease test on an antral biopsy. If positive the biopsy specimen was transferred to a transportmedium for culture on a Skirrow medium. Antimicrobial resistance was evaluated by the E-test.
Results: In 109 patients H pylori infection was seen and in all of them the culture was positive. No resistance was seen for amoxycillin and tetracycline. The resistance against metronidazole was 40.3% and and against clarithromycin it was 2.8%. For metronidazole there was a significantly higher resistance seen in women compared to men (53.3% vs 31.2%; p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Primary resistance to metronidazole was higher than expected and over average in Europe. The resistance for clarithromycin is still rare. Further monitoring is mandatory to detect changes in the community.