BMJ  2006;332:187-188 (28 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7535.187

Editorial

Who benefits from Helicobacter pylori eradication?

Mainly patients with endoscopically proved peptic ulcer or functional dyspepsia

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Dyspepsia has most recently been defined as predominant epigastric pain present for at least four weeks, with or without heartburn.¹ By implication gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) refers to predominant heartburn. These definitions work reasonably well when peptic ulcer has been excluded by endoscopy, but they fail to be sufficiently predictive in uninvestigated patients.² Thus the guideline on dyspepsia produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in 2004 recommended a common pathway for investigating and treating previously uninvestigated patients who had both heartburn and epigastric pain.³ Patients who have had endoscopy can be categorised according to the cause found—peptic ulcer, oesophagitis, or no obvious cause (functional dyspepsia or functional heartburn).

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori is most effective in preventing the recurrence of duodenal ulcer: the number needed to treat (NNT) for preventing one recurrence of ulceration at one year is 2.⁴ It now seems naive to . . . [Full text of this article]

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT
(b.c.delaney@bham.ac.uk)

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• (2006). Does Community H. pylori Screening and Treatment Reduce Dyspepsia Symptoms?. JWatch General 2006: 2-2 [Full text]  

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