Efficacy of Rabeprazole-based Triple Therapy for Helicobacter pylori Infection in Patients with Peptic Ulcer

Background/Aims: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based triple therapy has been a standard treatment for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication. Rabeprazole is a recently developed PPI and the efficacy of rabeprazole is known to be similar to that of omeprazole and lansoprazole when it is used in combination with amoxicillin and clarithromycin. However, the clinical efficacy of rabeprazole-based triple therapy for Korean patients is not well known. We compared the efficacy of rabeprazole-based triple therapy (RAC) and omeprazole-based one (OAC) for the eradication of H. pylori. Methods: Two hundred forty-seven H. pylori infected patients with peptic ulcer disease (177 men, 70 women) were randomly divided into two groups, which received one of the two different regimens. OAC regimen group (n=120) received omeprazole 20 mg, amoxicillin 1 g, and clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day for one week. RAC regimen group (n=l27) received rabeprazole 10 mg, amoxicillin 1 g, and clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day for one week. The eradication rate of H. pylori was determined by the urea breath test one month after the completion of the treatment. Results: Per-protocol analysis showed the eradication rates of 83.3% and 89.8% in the OAC and RAC regimen groups, respectively. The difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The efficacy of the PPI-based triple therapy with 20 mg of rabeprazole is comparable with that of 40 mg of omeprazole in Korean patients.