A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a collective term for infections that involve any part of the urinary tract. It is one of the most common infections in local primary care. The incidence of UTIs in adult males aged under 50 years is low, with adult women being 30 times more likely than men to develop a UTI. Appropriate classification of UTI into simple or complicated forms guides its management and the ORENUC classification can be used. Diagnosis of a UTI is based on a focused history, with appropriate investigations depending on individual risk factors. Simple uncomplicated cystitis responds very well to oral antibiotics, but complicated UTIs may require early imaging, and referral to the emergency department or hospitalisation to prevent urosepsis may be warranted. Escherichia coli remains the predominant uropathogen in acute community-acquired uncomplicated UTIs and amoxicillin-clavulanate is useful as a first-line antibiotic. Family physicians are capable of managing most UTIs if guided by appropriate history, investigations and appropriate antibiotics to achieve good outcomes and minimise antibiotic resistance.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin ; administration & dosage ; Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Clavulanic Acid ; administration & dosage ; Cystitis ; drug therapy ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Escherichia coli ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Primary Health Care ; Risk Factors ; Urinary Tract Infections ; drug therapy ; epidemiology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bismuth-containing quadruple and moxifloxacin-based triple regimens are recommended as second-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of each regimen. METHODS: From August 2004 to October 2012, a total of 949 patients (mean age, 54.32+/-12.08 years; male, 49.4%) who failed H. pylori eradication with a standard triple regimen were included. Patients treated with a bismuth-containing quadruple regimen for 7 and 14 days were designated as 7-BMT and 14-BMT, respectively, and those treated with a moxifloxacin-based triple regimen for 7 and 14 days were designated as 7-MA and 14-MA, respectively. H. pylori eradication was confirmed using the 13C-urea breath test, rapid urease test or histology. RESULTS: The eradication rates by 7-BMT, 14-BMT, 7-MA, and 14-MA were 66.4% (290/437), 71.1% (113/159), 53.1% (51/96), and 73.5% (189/257), respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis (ITT) and 76.5% (284/371), 83.8% (109/130), 55.6% (50/90), and 80.6% (187/232), respectively, by per-protocol analysis (PP). The eradication rates were higher in 14-BMT than 7-BMT by the ITT and PP analyses (p=0.277 and p=0.082, respectively). The 14-BMT and 14-MA treatments showed similar efficacies by ITT and PP (p=0.583 and p=0.443, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The 7-BMT, 14-BMT, and 14-MA treatments showed similar and suboptimal efficacies. In both regimens, extending the duration of treatment may be reasonable considering the high level of antibiotic resistance in Korea.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin/administration & dosage ; Antacids/*administration & dosage ; Anti-Infective Agents/*administration & dosage ; Bismuth/*administration & dosage ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination/methods ; Female ; Fluoroquinolones/*administration & dosage ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Intention to Treat Analysis ; Male ; Metronidazole/administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/administration & dosage ; Retrospective Studies ; Tetracycline/administration & dosage ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori colonizes on the apical surface of gastric surface mucosal cells and the surface mucous gel layer. Pronase is a premedication enzyme for endoscopy that can disrupt the gastric mucus layer. We evaluated the additive effects of pronase combined with standard triple therapy for H. pylori eradication. METHODS: This prospective, single-blinded, randomized, controlled study was conducted between June and October 2012. A total of 116 patients with H. pylori infection were enrolled in the study (n=112 patients, excluding four patients who failed to meet the inclusion criteria) and were assigned to receive either the standard triple therapy, which consists of a proton pump inhibitor with amoxicillin and clarithromycin twice a day for 7 days (PAC), or pronase (20,000 tyrosine units) combined with the standard triple therapy twice a day for 7 days (PACE). RESULTS: In the intention-to-treat analysis, the eradication rates of PAC versus PACE were 76.4% versus 56.1% (p=0.029). In the per-protocol analysis, the eradication rates were 87.5% versus 68.1% (p=0.027). There were no significant differences concerning adverse reactions between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: According to the interim analysis of the trial, pronase does not have an additive effect on the eradication of H. pylori infection (ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT01645761).
Adult ; Amoxicillin/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*therapeutic use ; Clarithromycin/therapeutic use ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination/methods ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/drug effects/microbiology ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy ; Helicobacter pylori/*drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pronase/*therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Single-Blind Method ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effect of proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapy combined with Saccharomyces boulardii in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection among children in terms of Hp eradication rate and incidence of adverse events.

METHODSA prospective randomised controlled study was conducted on 240 children with a confirmed diagnosis of Hp infection. These patients were randomized into triple therapy (n=120) and probiotics groups (n=120). The triple therapy group received amoxicillin [40 mg/(kg·d), Tid], clarithromycin [15 mg/(kg·d), Bid] and omeprazole [0.7-0.8 mg/(kg·d), Qd], while the probiotics group received Saccharomyces boulardii (250 mg, Bid) in addition to triple therapy. The course of treatment was 14 days in both groups. The adverse events in subjects were recorded by their parents during treatment. Hp eradiation was evaluated by (13)C breath test at 4 weeks after treatment, and the eradication rate and incidence of adverse events were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe Hp eradication rates were 75.8% (91/120) in the triple therapy group and 85% (102/120) in the probiotics group (P>0.05). Compared with the triple therapy group, the probiotics group had nonsignificantly lower incidence of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain (P>0.05) and significantly lower incidence of stomatitis, constipation and diarrhea (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTriple therapy combined with Saccharomyces boulardii cannot significantly increase Hp eradication rate, but can significantly reduce the incidence of stomatitis, constipation, and diarrhea during treatment.

Amoxicillin ; administration & dosage ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Clarithromycin ; administration & dosage ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections ; therapy ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Male ; Omeprazole ; administration & dosage ; Probiotics ; administration & dosage ; Prospective Studies ; Saccharomyces

Although, the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea has declined owing to the eradication therapy, recent seroprevalence of H. pylori infection is still reported to be as high as 54.4%. Until now, "standard regimen" for eradication of H. pylori has been conventional triple therapy consisting of proton pump inhibitor, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin. However, with the increase in antibiotic resistance, especially against clarithromycin, the eradication rate of conventional triple therapy has steadily declined during the past 13 years in Korea. Present eradication rate of standard triple therapy is reported to be less than 80%, which is the Maginot line of efficacy for the currently available regimen. Therefore, new first line eradication regimen is needed to enhance the eradication rate of H. pylori infection.
Amoxicillin/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Clarithromycin/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Disease Eradication/trends ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori/drug effects ; Humans ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori infection have been reported to have decreased over the years due to antibiotics resistance. The aim of this study is to investigate the trend of eradication rates of first-line triple therapy for H. pylori over the past 13 year period, and to evaluate factors affecting H. pylori eradication in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. METHODS: A total of 2,982 patients with H. pylori infection who were treated with either 1 week or 2 weeks first-line therapy (proton pump inhibitor [PPI], amoxicillin, and clarithromycin) from January 1999 through December 2011 were included in this study. Data were collected by retrospectively reviewing the medical records. RESULTS: The overall H. pylori eradication rate was 87.2%. The eradication rates from 1999 to 2011 fluctuated between 78.0% and 95.7%, but no definite evidence of a decreasing tendency was seen over the 13 year period (p=0.113). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the eradication rate according to the duration of therapy (p=0.592). However, there was a significant difference in the eradication rate among various PPIs (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There was no decreasing trend in the H. pylori eradication rate over the past 13 years in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. There also was no difference in the eradication rates depending on duration of therapy. However, a significant difference was noted among various PPIs.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*therapeutic use ; Clarithromycin/therapeutic use ; Disease Eradication/*trends ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Esomeprazole/therapeutic use ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy/pathology ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Omeprazole/therapeutic use ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Rabeprazole/therapeutic use ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Because the efficacy of standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication has declined, new regimens such as sequential therapy (ST) and concomitant therapy (CoCTx) have been introduced. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of 10-day ST and 10-day CoCTx for H. pylori eradication. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 316 patients with proven H. pylori infection. They were assigned to one of 2 regimens; ST (n=191) consisted of, lansoprazole 30 mg and amoxicillin 1 g for 5 days followed by lansoprazole 30 mg, metronidazole 500 mg, and clarithromycin 500 mg for 5 days, and CoCTx (n=125) consisted of lansoprazole 30 mg, amoxicillin 1 g, metronidazole 500 mg, and clarithromycin 500 mg for 10 days. All drugs were administered twice a day. Bacterial eradication was checked by using a 13C-urea breath test at least 4 weeks after completion of treatment. RESULTS: The mean age and male to female ratio was 51.74 and 1.03, respectively. Baseline characteristics were not different in both groups. Ten day CoCTx group (94.4%, 118/125) showed better eradication rate than ST group (82.2%, 157/191) (p=0.002). Drug compliances were not statistically different between the two groups (p=0.19). Side effects were more frequently reported in the CoCTx group than in the ST group (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Ten-day CoCTx was superior to ST in terms of eradicating H. pylori infection. Although the CoCTx producing more side effects than ST, CoCTx can be thought to be a promising alternative to ST as a treatment regimen for H. pylori eradication.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*therapeutic use ; Breath Tests ; Clarithromycin/therapeutic use ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Lansoprazole/therapeutic use ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Metronidazole/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Amoxicillin, a well-known antibiotic, has a broad spectrum against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. This experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effect of micronized and non-micronized amoxicillin prepared using different comminution techniques on change in blood concentration of rats. Forty adult male Sprague Dawley rats (6~7 weeks of age, body weight 128.3 +/- 10.7 g) were randomly allocated to two treatment groups: micronized amoxicillin (MA) group treated with micronized amoxicillin trihydrate powder (particle size, over 90% of 10 microm), non-micronized amoxicillin (NMA) group treated with non-micronized amoxicillin trihydrate powder (particle size, over 70% of 100 microm), given 480 mg/kg body weight once daily for four days. The results showed a significant increase in serum concentration in the MA group on days 3 and 4, compared to the NMA group (P<0.05). In particular, serum concentration of the MA group on day 4 was increased almost two times that of the NMA group. The results indicate that due to the increase of the drug's oral bioavailability, higher serum concentration would be achieved with the micronized amoxicillin trihydrate than with the non-micronized drug.
Administration, Oral ; Adult ; Amoxicillin ; Animals ; Biological Availability ; Body Weight ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Humans ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effect of a 10-day sequential therapy which was made up of omeprazole, clarithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate and metronidazole for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection in children.

METHODA total of 214 children with abdominal pain, who were confirmed to have Hp infection through endoscopy, biopsy, and Hp culture. The 214 cases were randomly divided into four groups. A 10-day sequential therapy group accepted omeprazole 0.8 - 1.0 mg/(kg·d) plus amoxicillin-clavulanate 50 mg/(kg·d) for five days and omeprazole 0.8 - 1.0 mg/(kg·d), clarithromycin 20 mg/(kg·d) and metronidazole 20 mg/(kg·d) for the remaining five days. The 7-day triple therapy group, 10-day triple therapy group and 14-day triple therapy group received omeprazole 0.8 - 1.0 mg/(kg·d), amoxicillin-clavulanate 50 mg/(kg·d) and clarithromycin 20 mg/(kg·d) for 7 days,10 days,14 days, respectively. All drugs were given twice daily. All these patients received (13)C urea breath test ((13)C-UBT) four weeks after the treatment.

RESULTFinally, 199 patients were followed up, and the total rate of loss to follow-up was 7.0% (15/214). Hp eradication rate was 85.2% and 90.2% in the 10-day sequential therapy group on intention to treat (ITT) and per protocol (PP) analyses, 66.0% and 71.4% in the 7-day triple therapy group on ITT and PP analyses; 60.0% and 67.3% in 10-day triple therapy group on ITT and PP analyses, and 78.8% and 82.0% in patients who received the 10-day sequential regimen on ITT and PP analyses, respectively. By ITT analysis, there was significantly difference between the 10-day sequential therapy group and 7-day or 10-day triple therapy group (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was found between the 10-day sequential therapy group and 14-day triple therapy group (P > 0.05). The results of the ITT analysis and the PP analysis were the same. The four groups had neither significant difference in abdominal pain relief (P > 0.05) nor in incidence of adverse reactions (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe 10-day sequential regimen was significantly more effective than both 7-day triple regimen and 10-day triple regimen, while had the same eradication rate compared with the 14-day sequential therapy. But 10-day triple regimen to eradicate Hp infection in children had the advantages such as short course of treatment and better compliance.

Administration, Oral ; Adolescent ; Amoxicillin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Anti-Ulcer Agents ; administration & dosage ; Breath Tests ; methods ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Clarithromycin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections ; drug therapy ; Helicobacter pylori ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Male ; Metronidazole ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Omeprazole ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of levofloxacin and rifaximin based quadruple regimen as first-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection. A prospectively randomized, double-blinded, parallel group, comparative study was performed. Three hundred consecutive H. pylori positive patients were randomized to receive: omeprazole, amoxicillin, clarithromycin (OAC); omeprazole, amoxicillin, levofloxacin (OAL); and omeprazole, amoxicillin, levofloxacin, rifaximin (OAL-R). The eradication rates in the intention to treat (ITT) and per protocol (PP) analyses were: OAC, 77.8% and 85.6%; OAL, 65.3% and 73.6%; and OAL-R, 74.5% and 80.2%. The eradication rate achieved with OAC was higher than with OAL on the ITT (P = 0.05) and PP analysis (P = 0.04). OAL-R regimen was not inferior to OAC. The frequency of moderate to severe adverse effects was significantly higher in OAC treatment group. Especially, diarrhea was most common complaint, and there was a significantly low rate of moderate to severe diarrhea with the rifaximin containing regimen. In conclusion, the levofloxacin and rifaximin based regimen comes up to the standard triple therapy, but has a limited efficacy in a Korean cohort. The rifaximin containing regimen has a very high safety profile for H. pylori eradication therapy.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin/administration & dosage ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage ; Clarithromycin/administration & dosage ; Diarrhea/chemically induced ; Double-Blind Method ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/complications/*drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ofloxacin/*administration & dosage ; Omeprazole/administration & dosage ; Peptic Ulcer/complications/*drug therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Rifamycins/*administration & dosage