Role of metronidazole resistance in therapy of Helicobacter pylori infections.

Susceptibility to metronidazole was determined by disk diffusion tests for 559 strains of Helicobacter pylori isolated from patients. The overall metronidazole resistance was 26%. In males metronidazole-resistant strains made 18% of all H. pylori strains, and in females the corresponding figure was 40% (P less than 0.001). MICs of metronidazole were determined for H. pylori strains from 86 patients undertaking triple therapy, i.e., treatment with colloidal bismuth subcitrate, amoxicillin, and metronidazole. Of the nonresponders who remained culture positive despite the therapy, 69% had strains with metronidazole MICs of greater than or equal to 32 micrograms/ml before the therapy, and all nonresponders had metronidazole-resistant strains after the therapy. Metronidazole resistance was, however, also found in 27% of responders before therapy. To find whether the MICs of metronidazole for H. pylori strains remained constant for longer periods, consecutive isolates sampled several years apart from the same patients were tested in parallel and no changes in the MICs were found. H. pylori was successfully eradicated by the triple therapy from 91% of patients with metronidazole-susceptible pretreatment strains and from 63% of patients with metronidazole-resistant strains before the therapy (P less than 0.01). Although resistance to metronidazole has a significant role in treatment failures in H. pylori infections, high eradication rates can be achieved with the use of the present triple therapy even in populations with a high overall metronidazole resistance rate.