How often does surgery for peptic ulceration eradicate Helicobacter pylori?
Most peptic ulceration is due to chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori, and antibiotic treatments can generally cure both the infection and the ulceration.1 In previous decades, however, persistent peptic ulceration was often treated surgically either by vagotomy, which merely reduces symptoms, or by partial gastrectomy, which removes the ulcer and parts of the stomach likely to be infected with H pylori.2 There have been several surveys on the prevalence of persistent H pylori infection in patients who have undergone surgery for peptic ulceration, often many years previously. We present a systematic review of these surveys and compare the type of surgery with the likelihood of persistent H pylori infection.
