Real-world outcomes associated with vonoprazan-based versus proton pump inhibitor-based therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Japanese guidelines recommend triple therapy with vonoprazan or a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in combination with antibiotics to treat Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infection. While studies have shown improved eradication rates and reduced costs with vonoprazan versus PPIs, there is little data describing healthcare resource use (HCRU) and treatment patterns.

OBJECTIVES: To compare patients treated with a vonoprazan-based or PPI-based regimen for H. pylori infection in Japan in terms of their characteristics, HCRU, healthcare costs, clinical outcomes, and treatment patterns.

DESIGN: Retrospective matched cohort.

METHODS: We used data from the Japan Medical Data Center claims database (July 2014-January 2020) to identify adult patients with H. pylori infection and a first observed use of vonoprazan or a PPI in 2015 or later (index date). Patients prescribed a vonoprazan-based or a PPI-based regimen were matched 1:1 using propensity score matching. HCRU, healthcare costs, diagnostic tests, a proxy for H. pylori eradication (i.e. no triple therapy with amoxicillin in combination with metronidazole or clarithromycin >30 days after the index date), and second-line treatment were described during the 12-month follow-up period.

RESULTS: Among 25,389 matched pairs, vonoprazan-treated patients had fewer all-cause and H. pylori- related inpatient stays and outpatient visits than PPI-treated patients, resulting in lower all-cause healthcare costs [185,378 Japanese yen (JPY) versus 230,876 JPY, p  < 0.001]. Over 80% of patients received a post-treatment test for H. pylori . Fewer vonoprazan-treated than PPI-treated patients subsequently received an additional triple regimen for H. pylori infection (7.1% versus 20.0%, p  < 0.001) or a prescription for vonoprazan or a PPI as monotherapy (12.4% versus 26.4%, p  < 0.001) between 31 days and 12 months after the index date.

CONCLUSION: Patients with H. pylori infection who were treated with vonoprazan-based therapy had lower rates of subsequent H. pylori treatment, lower overall and H. pylori -related HCRU, and lower healthcare costs than patients treated with PPI-based therapy.