Helicobacter pyloriinfection in hemodialysis patients: Susceptibility to amoxicillin and clarithromycin

AIM: To evaluate susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to amoxicillin and clarithromycin in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and non-uremic controls. METHODS: The subjects with dyspeptic complaints were 33 ESRD patients and 46 age-and sex-matched non-uremic controls who exhibited H pylori on antral biopsy specimens. The two groups were age and sex matched. The H pylori strains' pattern of susceptibility to amoxicillin and clarithromycin was investigated with the agar dilution technique. RESULTS: None of the H pylori strains from either group showed resistance to amoxicillin with the agar dilution method. Twelve (36.4%) of the ESRD group strains and 7 (15.2%) of the control group strains showed resistance to clarithromycin, and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Resistance to amoxicillin does not appear to be an important problem in H pylori-infected ESRD and non-uremic patients in our region. In contrast, the rates of resistance to clarithromycin are high, particularly in the ESRD population. (C) 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.