How Do I Choose the Best Herbal Treatment for H. Pylori?

Helicobacter pylori (Hp). First discovered by Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren, they were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is known that the incidence of H. pylori infection is closely related to socioeconomic level, population density, public health conditions, and water supply. Helicobacter pylori infection is now treated mainly with anti-Helicobacter pylori drugs.

Basic Information

Visiting department: Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology
Common locations: Digestive system
Common causes: H. pylori pathogenic

Common symptoms: Acid reflux, heartburn, stomach pain, bad breath, upper abdominal discomfort, dull pain, belching, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, recurrent attacks, gas hold, fullness

Causes of Helicobacter pylori infection

The current research on H. pylori infection pathways includes:

1. Factors that allow H. pylori to penetrate the mucus layer to colonize the surface of gastric epithelial cells.

2. Toxin factors that have a destructive effect on gastric epithelial cells and the like.

3. Various inflammatory cells and inflammatory mediators.

4. Immunoreactive substances, etc.

These factors constitute the basic pathological changes in the H. pylori infection pathway, that is, various types of acute and chronic gastritis. Among them, the role of vacuolar toxin vaca, cytotoxin-related protein caga, and urease and their molecular biology research have received important attention in recent years.

Clinical manifestations of Helicobacter pylori infection

1. The symptoms of Helicobacter pylori infection are acid reflux, heartburn, stomach pain, and bad breath.

2. Helicobacter pylori infection can cause chronic gastritis. The main clinical manifestations are: upper abdominal discomfort, dull pain, and sometimes symptoms of belching, acid reflux, nausea, and vomiting. The course is relatively slow, but it is easy to relapse.

3. Patients infected with Helicobacter pylori produce a variety of pathogenic factors, which cause gastric mucosal damage. The occurrence of clinical diseases is diverse, and patients often have acid reflux, belching, and feeling of fullness.

Helicobacter pylori infection test

Gastroscopy sampling test

Test for H. pylori. If it is positive, the diagnosis of H. pylori infection is confirmed.

2. Direct inspection of bacteria

Gastric mucosa (mostly antral mucosa) was taken by gastroscopy for direct smear, staining, tissue section staining and bacterial culture to detect Hp. Among them, gastric mucosal bacterial culture is the most reliable method for the diagnosis of Hp, which can be used as a "gold standard" for verifying other diagnostic tests, and can also perform drug sensitivity tests to guide clinical selection of drugs.

3. urease test

Hp infection can be diagnosed by detecting urease. Urease decomposes urea in the stomach to produce ammonia and carbon dioxide, which reduces urea concentration and increases ammonia concentration. Based on this principle, a variety of detection methods have been developed: urease test of gastric biopsy tissue; respiration test; determination of urea or urea nitrogen in gastric juice; ¹⁵ N-urea test.

4. Immunological test

Hp infection is detected by measuring Hp antibodies in serum, including complement binding tests, agglutination tests, passive hemagglutination assays, immunoblotting techniques, and enzyme-linked adsorption assays (ELISA).

5. Polymerase chain reaction technology

The detection rate of Hp in patients with chronic gastritis is very high, 50% to 80%, and the detection rate of Hp in patients with chronic active gastritis is even higher, reaching more than 90%.

Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

The current diagnostic methods for Helicobacter pylori include two categories: invasive and non-invasive. Invasive methods require endoscopic biopsy for detection, while non-invasive methods do not require endoscopic examination.

Urea [ ¹³ C / ¹⁴ C] breath test. The whole test process takes only 30 minutes. This method prevents many patients with hypertension, heart disease, and patients who cannot tolerate gastroscopy to avoid the discomfort of gastroscopy, and is one of the current ideal detection methods.

H. pylori infection treatment

Helicobacter pylori infection is now treated mainly with anti-Helicobacter pylori drugs. Although Helicobacter pylori is sensitive to many antibacterial drugs in vitro, it is not so easy to use it in vivo. At present, the use of a single antibacterial drug is not recommended because it has a low cure rate and is prone to drug resistance.

The choice of treatment plan is:

1. Adopt combined medication method;

2. The eradication rate of H. pylori is> 80%, preferably above 90%;

3. No obvious side effects, the patient is well tolerated;

4. Patients are financially affordable. Judging the therapeutic effect of Helicobacter pylori infection should be based on the eradication rate of H. pylori. Eradication means that at least one month after the termination of treatment, no bacterial growth is confirmed by bacteriological, pathological, or isotope tracer methods.

Care should be taken before oral eradication of H. pylori. Use mouthwash and antibacterial toothpaste for a while to repair oral problems such as tooth decay, tartar, and calculus. You can change the teeth first. Do not mix cups, water cups, and stainless steel thermos cups, and often cook and sterilize them, especially during drug treatment.

At present, anti-Helicobacter pylori drugs commonly used at home and abroad include Weifuchun Tablets, Amoxycillin, Metronidazole, Clarithromycin, Doxycycline, Furazolidone, Organic Colloidal Bismuth, Wedelot, Ledewei and so on. Patients with ulcer disease can still be appropriately combined with a proton pump inhibitor or H ₂ receptor antagonist plus two antibiotics, or a proton pump inhibitor (such as omeprazole) plus an antibiotic. The course of treatment is usually two weeks. Due to the widespread application of antibacterial protocols for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection, it is possible to expand the problem of drug resistance. Therefore, future research on alternative treatment or prevention strategies, such as vaccine prevention or immunotherapy, is worthy of attention.