Discrepancies between primary physician practice and treatment guidelines for Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea

Table 1 Korean guidelines for H pylori treatment (Korean H pylori Study Group, 1998)

Indication for H pylori eradication	Peptic ulcer
	Regardless of the stage of ulcer
	Low-grade MALT associated lymphoma
	Stage IE1
	After endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of early gastric cancer (EGC)
Recommended first line therapy	PPI-based triple therapy for 1-2 wk
	- PPI (omeprazole 20 mg or lansoprazole 30 mg or pantoprazole 40 mg) b.i.d.
	- Amoxicillin (not ampicillin) 1 000 mg b.i.d.
	- Clarithromycin (or metronidazole) 500 mg b.i.d.
Follow-up after eradication therapy	Urea breath test: test of choice, if available
	Or both biopsy urease test and histology
	At least 4 wk after completion of therapy
	Serology: not useful to confirm the eradication
Recommended second-line therapy	Quadruple therapy for 1 wk
	(PPI+conventional bismuth-based triple therapy)
	- PPI (omeprazole 20 mg or lansoprazole 30 mg or pantoprazole 40 mg) b.i.d.
	- Denol 120 mg b.i.d.
	- Metronidazole 400-500 mg t.i.d.
	- Tetracycline 500 mg q.i.d