Introduction Probiotics of various bacterial strains have been developed and available in practice. The usage of the probiotics including VSL#3 and so on are mostly about intestinal disease. We evaluated whether the addition of the probiotics of Lactobacillus acidophilus on the standard triple therapy improved the outcomes of Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment.

Method Patients who were diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori infection were enrolled consecutively from April 2015 to December 2015. Inclusion criteria were patients with indications for Helicobacter pylori eradication. Standard triple therapy was given with or without probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus). So we compared their outcomes; eradication rates, compliance, and adverse events.

Results During the study period, a total of 100 patients were enrolled and designated into probiotics + triple therapy group (n=50) or standard triple therapy only group (n=50). There was no significant difference in the demographic characteristics between two groups. The eradication success rate was higher in the probiotics + triple therapy group than the standard triple therapy only group (46/50 [92%] vs. 37/50 [74%]; p=0.02). The drug compliance of each group was not different (50/50 [100%] vs. 49/50 [98%]; p=0.315). The identified adverse events of probiotics group were less than non-probiotics group in proportion but not statistically significantly so (10/50 [20%] vs. 14/50 [28%]; p=0.349). All events were mild and tolerable and spontaneously resolved after discontinuation of eradication regimen.

Conclusion The addition of probiotics of Lactobacillus acidophilus on standard triple therapy increased the eradication success rate, irrespective of drug compliance and adverse events.

Disclosure of Interest None Declared