Effect of a probiotic food as an adjuvant to triple therapy for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in children

Objective Current recommendations for treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection include a proton pump inhibitor in combination with two antibiotics. We evaluated the potential activity of a probiotic food as an adjuvant to antibiotic triple therapy for eradication of H. pylori infection in children from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Methods Sixty-five children who tested positive for H. pylori, as diagnosed by 13C-urea breath test and endoscopy, were included in this study. Patients were randomized to receive 1-wk triple therapy plus probiotic food (treated group) or milk placebo (control) that was administered for 3 mo. Probiotic food consisted of 250 mL of a commercial yogurt containing Bifidobacterium animalis and Lactobacillus casei (107 colony-forming units/mL). Post-treatment urea breath test controls were performed 1 and 3 mo after the end of triple therapy. Results We found no significant differences in H. pylori eradication rates (ERs) at 1 and 3 mo between the treated group (ER = 45.5% and 42.4%) and the control group (ER = 37.5% and 40.6%). Relative risks between groups were 0.87 (95% confidence interval 0.58–1.32, P = 0.345) in the first month and 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.64–1.46, P = 0.542) in the third month. Conclusions We could not demonstrate an adjuvant effect of the studied probiotic food to triple therapy in the eradication of H. pylori infection in children in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, we found lower ERs than those reported for the same therapeutic scheme in developed countries, indicating that bacterial resistance and alternative therapeutic strategies should be studied.