Helicobacter pylori infection: Review and practice

Helicobacter pylon is the source of a frequent stomach infection that can lead to serious diseases such as gastroduodenal ulcer diseases and gastric cancers (carcinoma and MALT lymphoma). H. pylori is generally acquired in early childhood and persists throughout life, unless specifically eradicated by antibiotics. It is the first bacteria recognized as able to cause gastric cancer. Its eradication at on early stage cures MALT lymphoma. Among the numerous and reliable diagnostic methods, the urea breath test is the most accessible in daily practice. The current treatment for this infection consists in the administration of two antibiotics: clarithromycin and amoxicillin with an antisecretory agent to increase pH, for at least 7 days. The rising rate of treatment failure following increasing resistance to clarithromycin has generated new protocols of antibiotic therapy. A policy for gastric cancer prevention by eradication of H. pylori is currently being debated.