Effects of eradication therapy on gastric emptying in patients with Helicobacter pylori-positive duodenal ulcers

In this study 28 patients with Helicobacter pylori-positive duodenal ulcers were treated with a 7-day triple-therapy regimen (omeprazole, clarithromycin, amoxycillin). Gastric emptying time was measured scintigraphically before and after therapy. Only 13 patients attended regularly for their endoscopic and scintigraphic follow-ups. Gastric emptying time was 57.6+/-16.5 min in 28 patients before therapy, and 44.4+/-13.9 min after therapy (44.7+/-7.9 min in the control group). The present study demonstrated gastric emptying time to be longer in the ulcer patients compared with healthy controls and that, after eradication therapy, gastric emptying time became almost normal in the ulcer patients.