First study examines postpolypectomy bleeding in colonoscopy patients on uninterrupted clopidogrel
Researchers at the Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York examined postpolypectomy bleeding in patients undergoing colonoscopy on uninterrupted clopidogrel and found that the postpolypectomy bleeding rate is significantly higher in patients undergoing polypectomy while taking clopidogrel and concomitant aspirin/nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but that the risk is small and the outcome is favorable. This is the first study to evaluate postpolypectomy bleeding in patients on uninterrupted clopidogrel therapy and concludes that routine cessation of clopidogrel in patients before colonoscopy polypectomy is not necessary. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).