Cold versus hot snare resection with or without submucosal injection of 6-15 mm colorectal polyps: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background and aims Cold snare resection of colorectal lesions has been found safe and effective for an expanding set of colorectal lesions. In this study, we sought to understand the efficacy of simple cold snare resection and cold endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), versus hot snare resection and hot EMR for colorectal lesions 6-15 mm in size. Methods At three U.S. centers, 235 patients with 286 colorectal lesions 6-15 mm in size were randomized to cold snaring, cold EMR, hot snaring, or hot EMR for non-pedunculated colorectal lesions 6-15 mm in size. The primary outcome was complete resection determined by 4 biopsies from the defect margin and 1 biopsy from the center of the resection defect. Results The overall incomplete resection rate was 2.4% (95% CI 0.8-7.5%). All 7 incompletely removed polyps were 10-15 mm in size and removed by hot EMR (n = 4, 6.2%), hot snare (n = 2, 2.2%), or cold EMR (n = 1, 1.8%). Cold snaring had no incomplete resections, required less procedural time than the other methods, and was not associated with serious adverse events. Conclusion Cold snaring is a dominant resection technique for non-pedunculated colorectal lesions 6-15 mm in size.