Polysaccharide hemostatic powder shows promise for peptic ulcer bleeding

In the initial endoscopic treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding, the use of polysaccharide hemostatic powder appears to be not less efficacious than conventional treatment, according to a study.

For the study, researcher consecutively enrolled patients who had undergone emergency endoscopy for peptic ulcer bleeding. A total of 216 patients were randomly assigned to receive either polysaccharide hemostatic powder (diluted epinephrine was injected, and the powder was applied as a spray; n=105) or conventional treatment (electrical coagulation or hemoclipping after injection of diluted epinephrine; n=101).

Most patients in both treatment arms achieved initial hemostasis: 92 (87.6 percent) with polysaccharide hemostatic powder and 96 (86.5 percent) with conventional treatment. The number of patients who experienced rebleeding did not significantly differ between the two treatment arms.

In subgroup analysis, polysaccharide hemostasis power showed superiority over conventional treatment for Forrest IIa cases. The initial hemostasis failure rate was 13.6 percent in the conventional treatment arm. On the other hand, none of the patients in the polysaccharide hemostasis power arm experienced initial hemostasis failure (p=0.023).

Rebleeding at 30 days was independently associated with large ulcer size (≥15 mm) and chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis.

As for safety, there were no adverse events associated with the use of polysaccharide hemostasis power.

Additional research is needed to establish the efficacy of polysaccharide hemostasis power for peptic ulcer bleeding.