Efficacy of Clarithromycin Depends on the Bacterial Density in Clarithromycin-Heteroresistant Helicobacter pylori Infections: An In Situ Detected Susceptibility and Quantitative Morphometry-Based Retrospective Study

Abstract

The global rise in clarithromycin (Cla) resistance is considered to be the main contributor of <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (<i>Hp</i>) eradication failures. In nearly half of the Cla-resistant <i>Hp</i> infections, Cla-susceptible bacteria are simultaneously present with the Cla-resistant ones (Cla-heteroresistance). The proportion of resistant bacteria in the bacterial population (R-fraction) and its predictive role for the use of Cla-based therapies in Cla-heteroresistant infections has not yet been investigated. Our retrospective study analyzed gastric biopsy samples of 62 <i>Hp</i>-positive patients with Cla-heteroresistant infection. Fluorescence <i>In Situ</i> Hybridization technique was used to visualize the coexistence of resistant and susceptible bacteria within one tissue sample. R-fraction was quantified on multichannel microimages by digital morphometry. Resistant bacteria had a patchy distribution within the whole bacterial population causing high diversity among the investigated areas. Patients were subdivided into two major groups according to whether a Cla-based eradication attempt was conducted before or after the biopsy sampling. R-fraction was significantly lower among cases having only one previous Cla-based eradication attempt vs. those that had multiple previous eradications, including at least one Cla-containing therapy (0.41 vs. 0.89, <i>p</i> = 0.0308). Majority of the patients without previous eradication attempt had successful eradication with Cla-containing regimen (59.26%), verified by a negative ¹³C-urea breath test or control biopsy. Multivariable model indicated that the therapeutic outcome using Cla-based regimens depended on the bacterial density rather than the R-fraction. Our study raises the potential use of Cla-containing eradication therapies in certain Cla-heteroresistant <i>Hp</i> infections, taking into account the possible predictive role of bacterial density.