Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate management of dyspepsia, gastroduodenal ulcer and Helicobacter pylori infection in the setting of family practice. DESIGN: An observational transversal study was performed. An anonymous questionnaire was send by mail between January and October 2000. SETTING: Primary care. PARTICIPANTS: Physicians of 17 Primary Care centers. RESULTS: Sixty-four per cent of the physicians returned the answered questionnaire (107/165). Primary care doctors reported they had indicated eradication therapy at least once during last year in 94.3%; 89.7% usually indicate H. pylori eradication for duodenal ulcer and 70.1% for gastric ulcer. The main method for the study of dyspepsia was endoscopy associated with antral histology or rapid urease test for determination of H. pylori status. Omeprazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin twice daily for seven days was the preferred eradication therapy (77.6%). Forty-five percent of physicians systematically tested patients to confirm cure of the infection; 36.4% tested patients only if symptoms relapsed. Breath test (72.7%) was the preferred method to confirm eradication. Physicians with postgraduate specialty in Family Care and Community Medicine (MFyC) demand less often gastroenterologist evaluation, indicate less frequently upper tract radiology, use more often C13 urea breath test for diagnosis and indicate more often eradication treatment for erosive duodenitis than unspecialised family doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Management of dyspepsia and H. pylori infection in Primary Care in our area is reasonably adapted to current consensus recommendations. Many differences in management were observed between MFyC and non-specialised primary care physicians.