CMAJ Readers' Forum

Helicobacter pylori: corrections to drug regimen

Online posting: Sept. 29, 1997
Published in print: November 1, 1997 (CMAJ 1997;157:1199)
Re: Helicobacter pylori: new developments and treatments, Sander J.O. Veldhuyzen van Zanten and colleagues, CMAJ 1997;156[11]:1565-74 [abstract / résumé]

See response from: S.J.O. Veldhuyzen van Zanten, P.M. Sherman, R.H. Hunt

In this article, the 4th drug regimen (for omeprazole in combination with 3 other drugs), presented in Table 1 and discussed in the text on page 1591, does not match the regimen presented in reference 97, the article cited for this information. The original Lancet article1 recommended omeprazole 20 mg twice daily, not once daily. Patients in the omeprazole group received that drug for 3 days before initiation of treatment with the other drugs (bismuth subsalicylate, metronidazole and tetracycline). In addition, the dosage for metronaidazole was 250 mg three times daily, not four times. Finally, the volume number for the reference was given incorrectly; it is 345, not 335.

Janet Cooper
Practice Development Pharmacist
Canadian Pharmacists Association
Ottawa, Ont.
jcooper@cdnpharm.ca

Reference

  1. De Boer W, Driessen W, Jansz A, Tytgat GNJ. Effect of acid suppression on efficacy of treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection. Lancet 1995;345:817-20.
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