Data from a multicentre prospective trial have revealed differences in the endoscopic mucosa of patients 2–4 months after Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. Endoscopic analysis of 126 patients found that those in the successful eradication group (102 of 126) had substantial improvement in spotty redness of the fundic gland when compared with the failed eradication group (24 of 126); this phenotype could be useful for the rapid clinical diagnosis of H. pylori eradication.