Risk of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedure-Related Bleeding in Patients With or Without Continued Antithrombotic Therapy

Background Prospective studies on bleeding risk during/after gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures are rare. Aim We investigated the risk of endoscopic procedure-related bleeding in patients with biopsy and/or cold snare polypectomy (CSP) in relation to antithrombotic therapy. Methods This prospective, observational single-center cohort study (NCT02594813) enrolled consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or colonoscopy. The primary outcome measure was delayed bleeding in patients with biopsy and/or CSP who required endoscopic treatment within 2 weeks post-procedure. The secondary outcomes were immediate bleeding and the number of hemostatic clips used during the procedure. Results From November 2015 to October 2018 at our institution, 3069 (mean age, 66 years) and 37,887 (57 years) patients underwent EGD with and without antithrombotic therapy, respectively. In addition, 1116 (72 years) and 11,901 (65 years) patients had colonoscopy with and without antithrombotic therapy, respectively. In the 3069 EGD patients receiving antithrombotic therapy, no delayed bleeding occurred, whereas immediate bleeding occurred in 9 of 141 patients (6.4%) with biopsy. Of the 1116 colonoscopy patients receiving antithrombotic therapy, delayed bleeding occurred in three of 228 (1.3%) following CSP. Immediate bleeding occurred in nine of 225 (4%) following biopsy and in 32 of 228 (14%) following CSP. Multivariate analysis following univariate analysis identified chronic kidney disease and CSP as factors significantly associated with procedure-related bleeding in patients taking antithrombotic agents. Conclusion The risk of delayed bleeding in diagnostic EGD with biopsy or in colonoscopy with biopsy and/or CSP was low despite continuation of antithrombotic therapy.