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Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) causes widespread gastric mucosal bleeding that can result in chronic anemia and transfusion dependence. Coagulation of the ectatic vessels can reduce bleeding and transfusion requirement. Because of its ability to treat large surfaces in a short time, argon plasma coagulation (APC) is commonly used for treating GAVE. Now, researchers have tested the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) — an alternative mucosal ablation method that is FDA-approved for GAVE.
Investigators prospectively recruited 21 patients with GAVE who had not responded to two or more sessions of APC therapy as determined by continued bleeding. Each patient received circumferential RFA treatment at a power density of 40 W/cm2 and …