The Influence of Iron Deficiency on Helicobacter pylori 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

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.