thienopyridine and Intestinal-Polyps

It is not clear whether the cardiovascular risk of discontinuing treatment with antiplatelet agents, specifically the thienopyridines, before elective colonoscopy outweighs the risks of postpolypectomy bleeding (PPB). We studied the rate of PPB in patients who continue thienopyridine therapy during colonoscopy.. We performed a prospective study of 516 patients not taking warfarin who received polypectomies during elective colonoscopies; 219 were receiving thienopyridines, and 297 were not (controls). The occurrence of immediate PPB and delayed PPB was recorded. Delayed PPB was categorized as clinically important if it resulted in repeat colonoscopy, hospitalization, or blood transfusion.. Patients receiving thienopyridines were older and had significantly more comorbid diseases than controls; the mean number of polyps removed per patient was significantly higher (3.9 vs 2.9) in the thienopyridine group. Immediate PPB developed in 16 patients in the thienopyridine group (7.3%) and in 14 in the control group (4.7%, P = .25). Among patients who completed a 30-day follow-up analysis (96% of patients enrolled), clinically important, delayed bleeding occurred in 2.4% of patients receiving thienopyridines and in none of the controls (P = .01). All PPB events in both groups were resolved without surgery, angiography, or death.. Although a significantly higher percentage of patients who continue thienopyridine therapy during colonoscopy and polypectomy develop clinically important delayed PPB than patients who discontinue therapy, the rate of PPB events is low (2.4%), and all are resolved without sequelae. The risk for catastrophic cardiovascular risks among patients who discontinue thienopyridine therapy before elective colonoscopies could therefore exceed the risks of PPB. ClinicalTrials.gov, Number NCT01647568.

Topics: Aged; Colonoscopy; Endoscopy; Female; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Humans; Intestinal Polyps; Male; Middle Aged; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Postoperative Complications; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Pyridines

Topics: Colonoscopy; Endoscopy; Female; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Humans; Intestinal Polyps; Male; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Postoperative Complications; Pyridines

Delayed bleeding after lower endoscopy and polypectomy can cause significant morbidity. One strategy to reduce bleeding is to place an endoscopic clip on the polypectomy site. We used decision analysis to investigate the cost-effectiveness of routine clip placement after colon polypectomy.. Probabilities and plausible ranges were obtained from the literature, and a decision analysis was conducted by using TreeAge Pro 2011 Software. Our cost-effectiveness threshold was an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year. The reference case was a 50-year-old patient who had a single 1.0- to 1.5-cm polyp removed during colonoscopy. We estimated postpolypectomy bleeding rates for patients receiving no medications, those with planned resumption of antiplatelet therapy (nonaspirin), or those receiving anticoagulation therapy after polypectomy. We performed several sensitivity analyses, varying the cost of a clip and hospitalization, number of clips placed, clip effectiveness in reducing postpolypectomy bleeding, reduction in patient utility days related to gastrointestinal bleeding, and probability of harm from clip placement.. On the basis of the reference case, when patients did not receive anticoagulation therapy, clip placement was not cost-effective. However, for patients who did receive anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapies, prophylactic clip placement was a cost-effective strategy. The cost-effectiveness of a prophylactic clip strategy was sensitive to the costs of clips and hospitalization, number of clips placed, and clip effectiveness.. Placement of a prophylactic endoscopic clip after polypectomy appears to be a cost-effective strategy for patients who receive antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy. This approach should be studied in a controlled trial.

Topics: Colonoscopy; Endoscopy; Female; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Humans; Intestinal Polyps; Male; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Postoperative Complications; Pyridines