Polypectomy in Patients Taking Dual Antiplatelet Agents

Current guidelines recommend discontinuation of antiplatelets (i.e clopidogrel) for 7 days in patients taking DAT (dual antiplatelet therapy) before colonoscopy and polypectomy. The purpose of this study was to examine if a) discontinuation of these drugs reduces bleeding risks during polypectomy and if b) discontinuation of these drugs increases the occurence of thromboembolic events.

Patients taking dual antiplatelets (DAT) and who visited for colonoscopy were eligible for enrollment in this study. On enrollment, patients were randomized to two groups. One group continued DAT and the other group discontinued antiplatelets (i.e. clopidogrel, ticagrelor, prasugrel) for 7 days before colonoscopy. If polyps (≤1 cm) were observed during colonoscopy, they were removed by cold snare polypectomy. The primary aim was to compared the delayed bleeding rates of the two groups.