As per a recent study published in BMC Gastroenterology, the rifabutin-based triple therapy was found to be well tolerated along with a suitable eradication rate for patients suffering from dual drug-resistant strains of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Chia-Jung Kuo and researchers aimed to examine the effectiveness of rifabutin triple treatment for patients infested with dual drug-resistant strains.

The patients underwent upper endoscopy with tissue biopsies following 2 or 3 H. pylori treatment failures. The phenotypic and genotypic resistances were ascertained via agar dilution test and PCR with direct sequencing. Total of 39 patients (mean age 55.9 years) infected with dual drug-resistant (levofloxacin and clarithromycin) strains who were given 10 days rifabutin therapy- rifabutin 150 mg twice daily, amoxicillin 1 gm twice daily plus esomeprazole 40 mg twice daily were registered. Eradication status was evaluated via 13C-urea breath test 4 weeks following the completion of the treatment. Thirty one out of thirty nine patients had an eradication rate of about 79.5%. Mild adverse events were described by 23.1% of total patients. There was no factor recognised as an independent determinant of the eradication failure.