Evaluation of Levofloxacin-containing Regime in Comparison with Clarithromycin-containing Regime in Eradicating Helicobacter pylori Infection in Kerman

Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) is the main known cause of gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. Eradication of H.pylori can be an effective method of treatment for peptic ulcer disease and mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of levofloxacin versus clarithromycin in the eradication of H.pylori. This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 170 cases with H.pylori infection in Kerman. The participants were randomly allocated to two groups. As the first line therapy, ‘A’ group was treated twice a day with clarithromycin (500mg), pantoprazole (40mg) and amoxicillin (1gr) for 14 days and ‘B’ group was treated twice a day with levofloxacin (250mg), pantoprazole (40mg) and amoxicillin (1gr) for 14 days. Stool H.pylori antigen test was performed one month after the end of treatment. To analyze the data, descriptive and analytical methods and SPSS software version 22 were used. The study cases were comprised of 170 individuals (52.35%female). The mean age of patients in ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups was 42±11.88 and 41±13.75 years, respectively. H.pylori eradication was successful in 61.1% of ‘A’ group and 92.9% of ‘B’ group showing a significant difference (P=0.037). Drug complications were reported in 7.1% of ‘A’ group and 4.7% of ‘B’ group which showed no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.772). The most common drug complication in both groups was abdominal pain (2.3%). The results of this study indicated that levofloxacin-containing regimen was more effective in eradicating H.pylori than the standard clarithromycin triple therapy.