We thank Dr Molina-Infante and Dr Gisbert for their commentary about our recent paper.1, 2 Although a recent study by Alvarez et al.3 disclosed a 3.8% resistance rate to clarithromycin in Colombia, other similar studies have reported higher resistance rates of 15%4, 19.8%5 and 21.7%6 in Colombian patients. In their study, Alvarez et al. state that the lower resistance rates were likely related to the decreased exposure to clarithromycin by the population included, given that the subjects were not covered by any health system. Still, the lack of uniformity between reports is definitely an issue that would need to be addressed by future studies. With regard to the method used in our pilot study as first-line therapy to eradicate Helicobacter pylori, we decided not to evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility directly, but rather to evaluate it based on the local patterns for first-line therapies.7 Also, as suggested by Megraud et al.,8 this testing should ideally be performed after failure of a first-line treatment, and imperatively after failure with a second-line treatment. Finally, we agree with Dr Molina-Infante and Dr Gisbert on the importance of future studies, which may allow better therapeutic schemes against H. pylori, optimising the success rates even closer to 100%.