A Trial on Prophylactic Clipping to Prevent Post-polypectomy Bleeding After Colonoscopy in Direct Oral Anticoagulant Users

NCT ID: NCT05169242

Last Updated: 2024-08-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 584 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-12-15
• Study Completion Date: 2024-12-31

Brief Summary

The investigators hypothesize that prophylactic clipping after colonoscopic polypectomy can reduce risk of delayed PPB among DOAC users. The investigators also hypothesize that pre-endoscopy drug level can predict the risk of hemorrhagic complications after the procedure.

Detailed Description

Despite the clinical benefit of colonoscopic polypectomy, post-polypectomy bleeding (PPB) occurs in up to 6.5% of patients. Current international guidelines classify polypectomy as one of the endoscopic procedures with high risk of hemorrhage.

Risk factors for PPB include advanced age, cardiovascular or renal diseases, large polyp size, pedunculated morphology, proximal location in right colon, and the use of antithrombotic medications. Among them, the use of oral anticoagulants such as warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) is associated with a substantially higher risk of PPB up to 13.7%.

While prophylactic clipping is often performed by endoscopists to reduce the PPB risk in clinical practice, the available evidence on its efficacy has been heterogenous and conflicting. A number of studies reported the efficacy of prophylactic clip closure after endoscopic resection to prevent PPB. On the contrary, several randomized trials did not demonstrate any significant benefit of prophylactic clipping. In recent meta-analyses, routine use of prophylactic clipping was not shown to decrease PPB risk, except in a subgroup of colonic lesion larger than 20mm and proximal to the hepatic flexure. However, the proportion of patients on oral anticoagulants was low (5.1%-26%) in the above studies, limiting the generalizability of results to this high-risk patient group. Our preliminary data involving >500 patients on oral anticoagulants showed a lower PPB risk in prophylactic clipping group among DOAC users.

Also, although the consensus is that DOAC users do not require routine drug level monitoring, studies have shown a positive correlation between plasma drug level and bleeding risks. In special circumstances, the measurement of anticoagulant effect would provide management guide, including patients with extreme body weight or renal impairment, imminent need of antidote reversal or before invasive surgical procedures. Diluted thrombin time and anti-factor Xa assays demonstrated a reasonable linear correlation with the plasma drug concentration, yet they are indirect tests. Specific DOAC drug level can be checked to provide direct measurement of anticoagulant effect. In the setting of elective invasive procedures, a pre-operative cutoff level (≦30 ng/mL) for dabigatran and rivaroxaban has been proposed. Patients undergoing interventions with high bleeding risks may benefit from drug level measurement by informing the operators to perform prophylactic measures to reduce hemorrhagic complications.

In this randomized controlled trial, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic clipping in preventing PPB in colonoscopy among DOAC users. We also wish to investigate the correlation of pre-endoscopy DOAC drug level and the risk of hemorrhagic complications after the procedure.

Conditions

Post Polypectomy Bleeding

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Intervention group

In the intervention arm, one or more endoclips will be used to completely close the mucosal defect after polypectomy. Prophylactic clipping will be applied to all post-polypectomy sites. The total number of endoclips used will be recorded.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Endoclip

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

In the intervention arm, one or more endoclips will be used to completely close the mucosal defect after polypectomy. Prophylactic clipping will be applied to all post-polypectomy sites. The total number of endoclips used will be recorded.

Control group

In the control arm, no endoclip will be applied to all post-polypectomy sites, with the exceptions of uncontrolled immediate PPB or pre-treatment in very large pedunculated polyps as specified above. The subjects with endoclips applied due to safety reasons will be included in the subsequent intention-to-treat analysis, but not the per-protocol analysis.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Endoclip

In the intervention arm, one or more endoclips will be used to completely close the mucosal defect after polypectomy. Prophylactic clipping will be applied to all post-polypectomy sites. The total number of endoclips used will be recorded.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• They are active users of any DOAC
• They require elective colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, polyp surveillance, or investigation of symptoms such as anemia or past gastrointestinal bleeding
• Aged 18 years old or above;
• Written informed consent obtained.

Exclusion Criteria

• Absolute contraindications to colonoscopy
• Any medical conditions precluding interruption of DOAC for procedure
• Any medical conditions requiring concomitant uninterrupted dual antiplatelet drugs (single antiplatelet drug users will not be excluded)
• Active gastrointestinal bleeding
• Clinically significant bleeding tendency (decompensated cirrhosis or severe thrombocytopenia)
• Severe renal impairment (defined as creatinine clearance < 15 ml/min)
• Pregnancy or lactation;
• Advanced comorbid conditions (defined as American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 4 or above)
• Unable to obtain informed consent

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Chinese University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Louis Ho Shing Lau

Resident Specialist

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Prince of Wales Hospital

Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Hong Kong

Central Contacts

Louis Ho Shing Lau

Role: CONTACT

louishslau@cuhk.edu.lhk

35052211

Other Identifiers

2021.381

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id