2019 Volume 61 Issue 2 Pages 170-177
[Background and aim] Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) without electrocautery is generally accepted as a less invasive procedure that presents a lower risk of adverse events than hot snare polypectomy. We investigated the safety and usefulness of CSP.
[Methods] CSP was performed on colonic polyps of 10mm or less, except the pedunculated or depressed type. CSP was performed on 4749 lesions between January 2015 and December 2016 (CSP group). Delayed bleeding rate and the complete resection rate of the cancer cases were compared between lesions that had been treated by CSP and 3891 lesions that had been treated by polypectomy and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) (HSP group).
[Results] Patient demographic characteristics including age, gender, and the number, size, and localization of the polyps removed were similar in the two groups. Delayed bleeding was observed in 0.3% of the CSP group which was significantly less than that in the HSP group. Furthermore, in the CSP group, delayed bleeding occurred within only a few days after polypectomy. However, the complete resection rate of the cancer cases in the CSP group was significantly lower than that in the HSP group.
[Conclusions] This study showed that CSP is highly safe, although the complete resection rate of the cancer cases was significantly lower than that in the HSP group. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term prognosis of lesions treated with CSP.
