1-Hour Treatment For H Pylori?

Researchers in Japan have developed a one-shot therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication but it is unlikely to become popular on a wide basis. In this regimen, patients receive a combination of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole and pronase (to expose the bacteria in the gut), whereupon a balloon is passed down into the duodenum. The patients then receive high doses of a cocktail including amoxicillin, bismuth etc and "rolled" to ensure good exposure of the bacteria to the drugs.

Clearly, this regimen would be unsuitable for general use, but the researchers note that eradication has been achieved in 24 out of 25 patients (the one failure was apparently due to balloon failure). It may therefore have a role in particularly recalcitrant patients who do not respond to other eradication attempts.