[Helicobacter pylori therapy with omeprazole and clarithromycin: current status].
Clarithromycin and its 14-OH-metabolite are highly effective against Helicobacter pylori in vitro. This drug is acid stable and soluble and reaches considerable concentrations in the gastric mucosa and the mucus layer after oral administration. Several studies have meanwhile demonstrated that combined treatment with omeprazole and clarithromycin may eradicate. H. pylori infection in a remarkable proportion of treated patients. On the basis of the results of a recently published randomized doubleblind multicenter trial, at two-week therapy course comprising omeprazole 40 mg once in the morning and clarithromycin 500 mg thrice daily can be recommended for routine practice. One-week low dose triple therapy regimens combining omeprazole, clarithromycin and tinidazole or metronidazole might be a valuable alternative to omeprazole enhanced antibiotic monotherapy in the future, but the encouraging results of three pilot studies (H. pylori cure rates: 90%-100%) have to be confirmed in randomized and controlled trials.