Bentonite hemostatic powder as good as standard care for treating GI bleeding: Study

Hong Kong: A recent study found TC-325, a bentonite hemostatic powder with aluminum phyllosilicate clay, to be non-inferior to standard treatment for endoscopic control of bleeding from nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal causes. The study was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

TC-325 use is associated with a high initial rate of hemostasis and recurrent bleeding after initial treatment. However, only two previous studies have compared TC-325 with conventional treatment in patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. To widen the knowledge about the topic, James Y.W. Lau, Institute of Digestive Disease, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, and colleagues aimed to compare TC-325 with standard endoscopic hemostatic treatments in the control of active bleeding from nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal causes. 

For this purpose, the researchers designed a one-sided, noninferiority, randomized, controlled trial set in University teaching hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The study included 224 adult patients with acute bleeding from a nonvariceal cause on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Out of them, 111 received TC-325, and 113 received hemostatic treatment. 

The primary outcome was control of bleeding within 30 days.