Efficacy of a 14-Day Bismuth-Containing Quadruple Therapy Guided by Drug Susceptibility Testing in Patients with Extremely Refractory Helicobacter Pylori Infection: an Exploratory Study

The study enrolled patients with extremely refractory Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, identified in the outpatient department. Following enrollment, a comprehensive diagnostic approach was employed to ascertain the presence of H. pylori infection and to rule out false positives. Patients who test truly positive for H. pylori should undergo eradication therapy, avoiding any previously administered regimens. For those with unsuccessful culture attempts, a bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (vonoprazan + bismuth + amoxicillin + rifabutin) is recommended as an exploratory approach. Patients with successful cultures should undergo drug susceptibility testing to identify antibiotic resistance patterns of the H. pylori strain. Based on these results, a 14-day course of bismuth-containing quadruple eradication therapy is prescribed. Patients with strains that demonstrate sensitivity to both amoxicillin and rifabutin are assigned to the bismuth-containing quadruple therapy group (vonoprazan + bismuth + amoxicillin + rifabutin). For other patients, two non-resistant antibiotics are selected based on drug susceptibility test outcomes. If a patient shows sensitivity to only one antibiotic, a combination of that sensitive antibiotic with high-dose metronidazole is administered. After eradication treatment, 13C urea breath test and fecal antigen detection were re-examined 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.