Impact of cold snare versus cold forceps resection of diminutive adenomas on segmental incomplete resection rate.

Abstract

Polypectomy technique, for diminutive lesion resection, is variable amongst colonoscopists using either cold snare (CSP) or cold forceps (CFP) polypectomy. While it is well described that CSP is a preferred technique to resect small lesions, there is little data evaluating the impact resection techniques have on metachronous adenoma burden. The study aim was to evaluate the rate of incomplete resection attributable to CSP and CFP of diminutive adenomas. This is a two-center retrospective cohort study evaluating the segmental incomplete resection rate (S-IRR) of diminutive tubular adenomas (TA). S-IRR was calculated by subtracting the segmental metachronous adenoma rate in a specific colonic segment without adenoma from segments with adenoma on index colonoscopy. The primary outcome was the S-IRR of diminutive TA resected by CSP or CFP on index colonoscopy. 1504 patients were included in the analysis: 1235 with TA <6 mm and 269 with TA 6-9 mm as the most advanced lesion. The S-IRR in a segment that had a <6 mm TA incompletely resected by CFP on index colonoscopy was 13%. The S-IRR in a segment which had a <6 mm TA incompletely resected by CSP was 0%. Among 12 included colonoscopists, the range of overall S-IRR was 1.1% - 24.4% with an average S-IRR of 10.3%. S-IRR was 13% higher with CFP resection of diminutive TA than with CSP. A proposed S-IRR metric of <5% is a target goal for all diminutive polyp resection, as 3/12 colonoscopists achieved this low rate. S-IRR can be utilized as a methodology to compare and quantify the difference in segmental metachronous adenoma burden across various polypectomy removal methods.