Purastat® vs Standard Therapy for Haemostasis During Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection

Overview

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an endoscopic resection technique used to treat superficial neoplasia in the gastrointestinal tract. Bleeding is a commonly encountered problem during submucosal dissection and is usually managed with electrocautery. However, this does carry a risk of deep thermal injury and perforation. PuraStat® is a novel extracellular scaffold matrix of amino acids that forms a transparent adherent barrier when applied to a bleeding point. The aim of this trial is to study the use of PuraStat® in reducing the need for thermal haemostasis during ESD.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an endoscopic technique that involves the use of an endoscopic knife to gently peel off a superficial neoplasia of any size in an en-bloc fashion. It meets the principles of onco-surgery and is associated with excellent outcomes. A difficulty however with the technique is control of bleeding during the procedure. The GI mucosa is a vascular territory and the current method of managing intraprocedural bleeding is electrocautery using either the endoscopic knife itself or the coag grasper. This introduces a thermal injury to the bowel wall and carries the risk of causing a perforation or causing pain. Furthermore, it requires precise targeting of the bleeding vessel. Practically this can be challenging, particularly if the coag grasper is needed which is a bulky device and can be difficult to apply precisely in some locations. PuraStat® (3-D Matrix Ltd, Tokyo) is a liquid which is applied to a bleeding area which acts rapidly to form a gel coat which induces haemostasis. This transparent adherent barrier permits further endoscopic therapy to be performed. It can be applied in the general area of bleeding and does not require precise application to the exact point of bleeding. It is applied through a small catheter placed through the biopsy channel of the endoscope which can be used in very small spaces. PuraStat® is licensed as a CE marked device for use in exudative haemorrhage from vessels in solid organs and within the GI tract. Given this indication, the role of PuraStat in ESD needs to be explored as it could reduce the need for thermal haemostasis. This would be of significant clinical benefit during ESD.