A study, published in Preventive Medicine, examined physician compliance related to H. pylori management.
Traci Murakami, MD, of Tucson-based Univeristy of Arizona, and colleagues analyzed 582 physician surveys analyzing how physicians diagnosis and treat H. pylori infections.
Here's what you should know.
1. Fifty-nine percent of providers "almost always" used gastric biopsy during endoscopy to screen for H. pylori. Approximately 20 percent followed that test with a stool antigen test.
2. A little over half of the providers (53 percent) used standard triple therapy for 14 days to treat H. pylori.
3. To confirm eradication, 51 percent of providers used stool antigen tests, however only 58 percent of physicians tested for eradication after treatment.
Researchers concluded that a low number of gastroenterologists adhere to American College of Gastroenterology guidelines.
They said, "Although more physicians treat patients with a positive H. pylori test, only half ensure eradication after treatment. Improving knowledge of the resistance patterns of H. pylori may be critical to ensure successful eradication."