Background and objectives
Peptic ulcer disease, chronic gastritis, and stomach cancer are all caused by
H. pylori
. The most notable drug for the treatment is the antibiotic clarithromycin, which is currently the drug of choice.
H. pylori
clarithromycin resistance has been associated with point mutations in 23srRNA, the most prominent of which are A2143 and A2144G
.
In
H. pylori
bacteria, methylase synthesis, macrolide-inactivating enzyme activity, and active efflux have all been found to be resistance mechanisms. The goal of the study is to determine how resistant
H. pylori
is to clarithromycin and what the minimum inhibitory concentration is for various antimicrobials. Furthermore, gastro-endoscopy will be performed on Iraqi patients to detect the presence of A2143G and A2144G point mutations in
Helicobacter pylori
infections, as diagnosed from the pyloric region and other anatomical regions.
Methods
One hundred fifteen samples were collected from patients strongly suspected of
H. pylori
infection presented for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at Ramadi Teaching Hospitals and Private Clinics for the period from January 2020 until February 2021. Specimens were cultured on brain heart infusion agar containing various antibiotics and were incubated at 37 °C under microaerophilic conditions. For identification of
H. pylori,
isolates of the biochemical tests and RT-PCR assay were applied. The Epsilometer test was used in the antibiotic susceptibility testing as dependent on the CLSI standard. The Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism technique was used to determine point mutations.
Results
In total, 55 (47.8%)
Helicobacter pylori
isolates were cultured from the 115 biopsy specimens, among which 16 (29.1%), 38 (69.1%), 20 (36.4%), and 40 (72.7%) revealed some degree of resistance to levofloxacin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole, respectively. The frequency of A2144G and A2143 point mutations were 23 (60.5%) and 19 (50%), respectively.
Conclusions
According to our results
, Helicobacter pylori
showed high resistance to clarithromycin. Our results demonstrate the requirement for antibiotic susceptibility testing and molecular methods in selecting drug regimens.