[Reflux esophagitis; is the preventive eradication of Helicobacter pylori needed in patients on omeprazole?]

Abstract

The pattern of Helicobacter pylori gastritis depends on acid secretion. Profound acid suppressive therapy with proton pump inhibitors leads to a decrease of antral gastritis, but an increased severity of corpus gastritis. As such, maintenance therapy with these drugs for gastroesophageal reflux disease has consistently been associated with an increased incidence of atrophic gastritis in H. pylori infected patients. For this reason, the preventive effect of H. pylori eradication in these patients needs to be considered; this is being studied in prospective trials.