Ten-Day Triple Therapy for H. pylori?.

In the U.S., triple therapy to eradicate Helicobacter pylori is generally recommended as a 14-day course. These randomized trials of patients with active or recent duodenal ulcer, all H. pylori-positive by a rapid urease test, suggest that 10 days may be sufficient.

In one study, 261 patients received either 10 or 14 days of lansoprazole (30 mg), amoxicillin (1 g), and clarithromycin (500 mg), each given twice daily. In a per-protocol analysis, the rates of H. pylori eradication four to six weeks after therapy were 85 percent with the 14-day regimen and 84 percent with the 10-day regimen. Rates in an intention-to-treat analysis were 3 percent lower.

In another study, 507 patients received either a 10-day course of twice-daily omeprazole (20 m…