Endoscopic injection of fibrin glue versus polidocanol in peptic ulcer hemorrhage: a pilot study.

In this prospective, randomized trial, bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers in the Forrest I and II stages were treated endoscopically with injection of either fibrin glue or polidocanol. After exclusion of four patients for various reasons, 38 patients were treated with fibrin glue (mean: 5.4 ml) and 41 patients with polidocanol (mean: 12.1 ml) with control endoscopies routinely performed on days 1, 3, and 7 after treatment. The two groups were comparable with regard to age, sex, ulcer location and Forrest classification. Recurrent bleeding was observed in five cases in the fibrin group and in ten cases in the polidocanol group; three and two patients in the fibrin and polidocanol groups, respectively, had to undergo surgery. We conclude that fibrin glue injection is an effective method for the treatment of bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers.