Polidocanol Reduces Colon Polypectomy Bleeding

The most common complication of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of large colorectal lesions is delayed hemorrhage.

In a nonrandomized study, two groups of 306 patients each underwent EMR with submucosal injection of saline containing 1:10,000 epinephrine or 10 mL of polidocanol 1%, which is not currently FDA-approved for this purpose. The median size of lesions was 32 mm, and polyps were transected using ERBE Endocut.

Immediate bleeding occurred less frequently in the polidocanol group than in the epinephrine group (3.9% vs. 10.7%), as did delayed bleeding (1.3% vs. 6.2%). Adverse events included two perforations in the epinephrine group and none in the polidocanol group, and no postpolypectomy syndrome was reported.