Background: Cold polypectomy is a widely used technique for removing small polyps. Little evidence is available regarding its use for removing non-polypoid colorectal lesions (NPCRL).
Objective: The main aim of this study was to assess the safety of cold snare resection of NPCRL up to 20 mm.
Methods: This was a prospective cohort study carried out from January 2009 to January 2012. Consecutive patients scheduled for colonoscopy who had at least one NPCRL were recruited. Patients undergoing antiaggregation or anticoagulation treatment were excluded. NPCRL of up to 20 mm were removed by means of a cold snare, with or without piecemeal technique. To evaluate the safety of the procedure, the measured outcomes were bleeding and perforation rates. Statistical measures as percentages with their respective confidence intervals of 95% were estimated and the level of significance was set at alpha = 0.03. The calculated interval was unilateral, because the experimental rate was 0%, and was built based on the binomial distribution. Statistix (SX9.0) was used.
Results: A total of 171 NPCRL were removed from 124 patients. The mean size of the lesions was 9.22 +/- 4.7 mm (range: 4 to 20 mm). The mean age of patients was 55 +/- 11 years (range: 25 to 81 years) and 56% of them were women. No immediate or delayed complications were recorded.
Conclusions: Cold snare resection could be used to remove LNPCR (0-IIa and 0-IIb) measuring up to 20 mm, without immediate or delayed complications.