Prophylactic use of a self‐assembling peptide hydrogel for preventing delayed bleeding after endoscopic sphincterotomy: A propensity score‐matched analysis

Abstract Background and Aim Delayed endoscopic sphincterotomy‐related bleeding (ES bleeding) is an unavoidable adverse event (AE) that can have serious ramifications. Intraoperative ES bleeding, which stops spontaneously in most cases, is a known risk factor for delayed bleeding. This study aimed to examine the preventive effect of a novel self‐assembling peptide (SAP) for delayed ES bleeding in patients who attained spontaneous hemostasis after intraoperative ES bleeding. Methods A total of 1507 patients met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this study. The rates of delayed ES bleeding and AE besides bleeding were compared between patients administered the SAP (SAP group) and those who were simply observed after spontaneous hemostasis of intraoperative ES bleeding (control group). Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for differences between the groups. Results The rate of delayed ES bleeding was significantly lower in the SAP group than that in the control group (0.9% vs 3.8%, P = 0.044). The rates of AEs other than bleeding were 2.4% and 3.8% in the SAP and control groups, respectively, and the difference lacked statistical significance ( P = 0.481). Multivariate analysis revealed that the use of SAP was significantly associated with a lower frequency of delayed ES bleeding (odds ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.13–0.98; P = 0.047). Conclusions Self‐assembling peptide may be a simple, safe, and useful way to reduce the risk of delayed ES bleeding in patients who experienced intraoperative ES bleeding and obtained subsequent spontaneous hemostasis.