Comparison of cold snare and hot snare polypectomy for the resection of sporadic nonampullary duodenal adenomas

Background and Aims: Nonampullary duodenal adenomas can undergo malignant transformation, making endoscopic resection, often by hot snare (HSP) or cold snare polypectomy (CSP), necessary. Although CSP has been shown to be safer for removal of colon polyps, data comparing these techniques for the resection of duodenal adenomas are limited. Our aim was to compare the safety and efficacy of CSP and HSP for the removal of nonampullary duodenal adenomas. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients referred to 2 academic medical centers with a histologically confirmed sporadic, nonampullary duodenal adenoma who underwent endoscopic snare polypectomy between January 1, 2007 and March 1, 2021. Patients with underlying polyposis syndromes were excluded. Outcomes included postprocedural adverse events and polyp recurrence. Results: Of 110 total patients, 69 underwent HSP and 41 underwent CSP. Intraprocedural bleeding was similar between both groups, but 7 patients in the HSP group experienced delayed adverse events versus none in the CSP group (P =.04). Fifty-four patients had complete polyp resection and subsequent surveillance endoscopies. Multivariate analysis showed polyp size to be associated with recurrence (per mm; odds ratio, 1.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.20; P <.01). Endoscopic resection technique (HSP vs CSP) was not a predictor of recurrence (P =.18). Conclusions: HSP led to more delayed adverse events compared with CSP, whereas no significant differences on outcomes were noted, suggesting that CSP is equally effective and potentially safer for the removal of duodenal adenomas.

Automated summary

Comparing the safety and efficacy of CSP and HSP for the removal of nonampullary duodenal adenomas, CSP is equally effective and potentially safer with fewer delayed adverse events compared to HSP.