Metronidazole resistance is a common problem in most Asian countries, and clarithromycin has been widely used in Hong Kong.

To determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori strains resistant to metronidazole and clarithromycin in Hong Kong and to assess the effect on eradication rates. Also to determine the genetic mutation in relation to phenotypic divergence in clarithromycin‐resistant strains.

H. pylori were cultured from gastric biopsies obtained from 87 patients during upper endoscopy. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of metronidazole and clarithromycin were determined by Etest and agar dilution methods. Mutations in clarithromycin‐resistant strains were identified by polymerase chain reaction and restriction analysis. Random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting was performed on clarithromycin‐resistant and susceptible isolates.

The prevalences of H. pylori strains resistant to metronidazole and clarithromycin were 49.4% and 10.8%, respectively, in Hong Kong. Dual resistance to metronidazole and clarithromycin were found in 7.2% of patients. The agreement between E‐test and agar dilution methods was determined by error‐rate bound analysis as 95.4% for metronidazole and 100% for clarithromycin. Dual resistant strains reduced the eradication rate to 66.7%. Among clarithromycin‐resistant strains tested, all were due to A2144G point mutation in 23S rRNA gene. Random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting suggested various phenotypically mixed populations.

The prevalence of metronidazole‐resistant H. pylori strains remained static whilst the prevalence of clarithromycin‐resistant strains was not rare in Hong Kong. An alarming 7.2% of patients were resistant to both the antimicrobials, which had a definite impact on treatment success. All cases of resistance to clarithromycin were due to A2144G mutation in 23S rRNA of H. pylori.