Efficacy and safety of lactoferrin combined with triple therapy in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastropathy in children

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of the combination of lactoferrin and triple therapy in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated gastropathy in children. Methods Total 100 children with H. pylori infection in our hospital between January, 2014 and December, 2016 were enrolled in this study and divided into observation group and control group according to the double-blind randomized method with 50 cases in each group. A standard triple therapy (taking 20 mg omeprazole enteric on an empty stomach, b.i.d; taking 500 mg clarithromycin after a meal, b.i.d; taking aromoline 1 g after a meal, q.d) was performed in both groups. The observation group was additionally given 0.024 g lactoferrin, taking at a draft, q.d. The course was 2 weeks in both groups. The incidence of adverse reactions, symptoms improvement, HP eradication rate and recurrence rate with six months were observed. Chi-square test was performed by SPSS. Results The total curative rate in the observation group after one and two weeks treatment was 90.0% and 94.0%, in the control group was 72.0% and 78.0%. HP eradication rate after the treatment in the observation group was 92.0%, which was significantly higher than 72.0% in the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 8%, which was significantly lower than 33.3% in the control group (P<0.05). The recurrence rate within six months was 22.0% in the observation group and 42.0% in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion The clinical efficacy of Lactoferrin combined with triple therapy in the treatment of HP infection-related stomach disease in children is better than triple therapy alone, which can decrease HP positive rate and eradicate Helicobacter pylori effectively, with a lower recurrence rate and higher safety.