Concomitant or Sequential Therapy as the First-line Therapy for Eradication of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Korea: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background/Aims: In Korea, increasing clarithromycin resistance has led to the need for an alternative first-line therapy for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Concomitant therapy (CT) and sequential therapy (ST) have been proposed as alternative regimens. The aim of this study was to compare the eradication rate from using CT and ST in Korea. Methods: A literature review was performed on studies comparing the efficacy of CT and ST in Korea. Data were pooled to obtain the odds ratio (OR) of the eradication rate with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The eradication rates were considered both on an intention-to-treat (ITT) and a per-protocol (PP) bases. Results: Six studies provided data on 1,897 Korean adult patients. The pooled OR was 1.382 (95% CI: 1.031-1.853, p=0.031) for ITT analysis and 2.114 (95% CI: 1.502-2.974, p<0.001) for PP analysis. There was no difference in the rate of adverse events and compliances between the two regimens. Conclusions: The efficacy of CT was superior to ST in both ITT and PP analyses. Therefore, CT could be an excellent alternative regimen for the eradication of H. pylori as a first-line therapy in Korea.