The Influence of Iron Deficiency on <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Eradication

Kim, Sung Eun; Park, Moo In; Park, Seun Ja; Moon, Won; Kim, Jae Hyun; Jung, Kyoungwon; Seo, Kwang Il; Lim, Seong Kyeong; Jung, Jin Kyu; Kim, Hyeon Jin; Yeo, Go Eun; Jeon, Sung Chan; Cho, Duk Song; Han, You Jin

doi:2016.16.2.82

Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res > Volume 16(2); 2016 > Article

Original Article

The Korean Journal of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research 2016;16(2):82-87.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7704/kjhugr.2016.16.2.82 Published online June 10, 2016.

The Influence of Iron Deficiency on Helicobacter pylori Eradication

Sung Eun Kim, Moo In Park, Seun Ja Park, Won Moon, Jae Hyun Kim, Kyoungwon Jung, Kwang Il Seo, Seong Kyeong Lim, Jin Kyu Jung, Hyeon Jin Kim, Go Eun Yeo, Sung Chan Jeon, Duk Song Cho, You Jin Han

Department of Internal Medicine, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. mipark@kosinmed.or.kr

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Helicobacter pylori is a distinctive pathogen that lives in the gastric mucosa and is a well known risk factor of gastric adenocarcinoma. Iron deficiency aggravates the development of H. pylori-induced premalignant and malignant lesions in a cagA-dependent manner, enhancing H. pylori virulence. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between iron deficiency and H. pylori eradication rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants who received 7 days of first-line triple therapy with serum iron level measured in parallel were retrospectively investigated between 2005 and 2014. H. pylori eradication was confirmed by the rapid urease test or 13C-urea breath test at least 4 weeks after completion of triple therapy. Iron deficiency was defined as either a serum iron level less than 50 µg/dL or a serum ferritin level less than 12 ng/mL. RESULTS: A total of 194 patients received 7 days of first-line triple therapy along with parallel serum iron level measurements over the 10-year period. The mean average age was 53.3 years (range, 21~86 years), and 135 patients (69.6%) were male. The overall H. pylori eradication rate was 83.5%. Proportions of eradication success with ferritin level less than 12 ng/mL and iron less than 50 µg/dL were 90.5% and 88.6%, respectively. However, there was no statistical difference in eradication rates according to iron deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Iron deficiency might not be related with H. pylori eradication rates in this study. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm this result.

Key Words: Helicobacter pylori; Disease eradication; Iron