Quadruple therapy with doxycycline safe and effective for H. pylori eradication: Study

China: 7-day and 10-day quadruple therapy with doxycycline could be an optional first-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection, a recent study has revealed. 

The study, published in the journal Helicobacter, further found the safety of regimens containing semisynthetic tetracyclines to be relatively satisfactory. The researchers, however, did not recommend triple regimen. 

There is a great concern on the trends of increasing antibiotic resistance and decreasing Helicobacter pylori eradication rate. Considering this, there arises a need for new and effective therapies for H. pylori infection. To assess the efficacy and safety of semisynthetic tetracycline regimens in H. pylori treatment, Yong Xie, Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of semisynthetic tetracycline regimens in H. pylori treatment.

For this purpose, the researchers searched the online databases. The outcome indicators were the eradication rate, risk ratio (RR, ie, the risk of the semisynthetic tetracycline regimen relative to the control). Controls were patients undergoing any other treatment without semisynthetic tetracycline.

Twenty-three studies with 5240 participants were included. 

Based on the findings that authors concluded that seven-day and ten-day quadruple therapy with doxycycline might be an optional first-line therapy.

"The safety of regimens containing semisynthetic tetracyclines was relatively satisfactory. However, the triple regimen is not recommended," they wrote. 

Reference:

The study titled, "Doxycycline and minocycline in Helicobacter pylori treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis," is published in the journal Helicobacter.

DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hel.12839