[Helicobacter pylori reinfection rate and its related factors after successful eradication: 4-year follow-up in a Korean rural community].

Background/aims: Recurrence of peptic ulcer after successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori is closely associated with reinfection. The aim of this study was to measure the rate and related factors of H. pylori reinfection through a 4-year follow-up excluding recrudescence.

Methods: Triple therapy was administered to H. pylori-positive 204 people in April 1998 in Gyeongju, Korea. The urea breath test was performed in April 1999. Eighty-seven subjects were regarded as negative for H. pylori, and they were followed up for 4 years to analyze the trends of reinfection rate and its related factors. Sixty-seven subjects completed the 4-year follow-up. During the follow-up period the urea breath test and questionnaire surveys were performed in April 2000, October 2001, and April 2003.

Results: The cumulative reinfection rate was 16.4% for 4 years, and the yearly reinfection rate was 4.1%. The reinfection rate of subjects having postprandial fullness and epigastric bloating was significantly high (p<0.05), and that of the subjects with high dyspepsia symptom scores (4 or 5) was also significantly higher than those with low dyspepsia symptom scores (3 or below)(p=0.016). According to the multiple logistic regression analysis to predict the factors related with H. pylori reinfection, the dyspepsia symptom score was the only significant variable with the odds ratio of 1.688.

Conclusions: The cumulative reinfection rate for 4 years was 16.4% in a Korean rural community. The dyspepsia symptom score can be used to predict H. pylori reinfection in community population.