Acute Campylobacter jejuni enteritis in 385 hospitalised patients.

Twenty healthy controls and 385 adult patients suffering from acute enteritis or gastroenteritis were enrolled for the study of Campylobacter Jejuni infection over a period of 2 years. Thirty five stool samples showed C jejuni on stool culture. The isolation rates were at peak in the monsoon season and from watery and bloody stool specimens. Pure C jejuni culture was obtained in 18 of 35 samples; the other 17 samples showed polymicrobial infection or infestation. Nine of 35 patients were treated with erythromycin 1 g in divided doses for 7 days. Repeat stool cultures did not grow C jejuni. There was no resistance to erythromycin therapy. C jejuni are fastidious organisms and require special medium and microaerophilic environment for culture.

Relapse of Helicobacter pylori infection after different treatment regimens. A 3-month follow-up study.

Helicobacter pylori infection of gastric antrum is associated with a majority of cases of peptic ulcer (70-100%). Studies have shown that when this organism is eradicated, the recurrence of ulcer falls to less than one-third of those in whom the infection persists or relapses. Monotherapy with bismuth salts, tinidazone or amoxycillin has been shown to result in early relapse and recurrence of ulcers. However, dual or triple therapy regimens are more effective. We conducted a randomised controlled study using tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate (TDB) (10 patients); amoxycillin (combined with ranitidine for ulcer healing) (9 patients) and dual therapy with both amoxycillin and TDB (10 patients). Our study showed that relapse rates at the end of 3 months was significantly less if dual therapy with TDB and amoxycillin is used as compared to TDB alone (p less than 0.05).

Association of peptic ulcer with Helicobacter pylori and the recurrence rate. A three year follow-up study.

Helicobacter pylori is associated with 70-100% of peptic ulcers. Relapse of infection has been shown to cause recurrences of ulcers in a large number of studies. We diagnosed 137 cases of peptic ulcer (121 DU; 16 GU) during a 3 year period. Of these, 117 were positive for H pylori. Sixty six of the 117 cases staying in the vicinity of the Hospital were followed up for a minimum period of 3 months upto a maximum period of 3 years. In 91 examinations there was relapse of H pylori infection and ulcer recurrence was seen in 58 (63%), whereas ulcer recurred only in 6 out of 61 examinations where H pylori had not relapsed (10%). The difference was highly significant by Chi square test. (P less than 0.001).