Topical Application of Sucralfate in Promoting Healing of Esophageal Ulcers After Esophageal Varices Ligation

Official title

Topical Application of Sucralfate in Promoting Healing of Esophageal Ulcers After Esophageal Varices Ligation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Patients with EV bleeding often suffered from hematemesis, Tarry stool, and blood loss. Standard treatment for bleeding esophageal varices includes hemodynamic stabilization, pharmacological control, and endoscopic intervention. For endoscopic intervention, endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is the first-line therapy with 95% initial hemostasis success rate. However, after variceal ligation, esophageal ulcers form 3 days later. These ulcers expose underlying vessels in friable esophageal mucosa, exacerbated by portal hypertension and coagulopathy in cirrhosis patients. Bleeding peaks around day 5-10 when bands detach. Among these patients, 7-9% of patients experience recurrent bleeding as a result. Recurrent bleeding from esophageal ulcers carries an extremely high mortality rate, particularly in patients with advanced stage cirrhosis. Therefore, how to promote esophageal ulcer healing and prevent ulcer rebleeding is an important clinical issue. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the primary drugs for preventing and treating gastric ulcers, but clinical evidence for their role in preventing post-ligation esophageal ulcers is insufficient. Sucralfate, a complex of aluminum hydroxide and sucrose octa sulfate, can bind to the wound base. This protective barrier can prevent the wound from further environmental injury. Sucralfate has been widely used for wounds and ulcer treatment, e.g., skin wounds, oral ulcers, and peptic ulcers. Our recent clinical trial also proved topical sucralfate can prevent postpolypectomy bleeding. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the topical administration of sucralfate after standard endoscopic hemostasis can promote the esophageal ulcer healing and reduce the rebleeding event.

Detailed description

Liver cirrhosis is with high prevalence in Taiwan at around 1-2% of the adult population. Cirrhosis scars the liver, obstructing blood flow through the portal vein and raising pressure, so collateral veins dilate in the lower third esophagus. As a result, liver cirrhosis commonly leads to esophageal varices (EV) through portal hypertension. Up to 80-90% of cirrhotic patients develop varices. Esophageal varices may rupture and bleed when hepatic venous pressure gradient exceeds 12 mmHg. About one-third cirrhosis patients suffer from EV bleeding, which is associated with high mortality per episode and high rebleeding rates.

Patients with EV bleeding often suffered from hematemesis, Tarry stool, and blood loss. Standard treatment for bleeding esophageal varices includes hemodynamic stabilization, pharmacological control, and endoscopic intervention. For endoscopic intervention, endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is the first-line therapy with 95% initial hemostasis success rate. However, after variceal ligation, esophageal ulcers form 3 days later. These ulcers expose underlying vessels in friable esophageal mucosa, exacerbated by portal hypertension and coagulopathy in cirrhosis patients. Bleeding peaks around day 5-10 when bands detach. Among these patients, 7-9% of patients experience recurrent bleeding as a result. Recurrent bleeding from esophageal ulcers carries an extremely high mortality rate, particularly in patients with advanced stage cirrhosis. Therefore, how to promote esophageal ulcer healing and prevent ulcer rebleeding is an important clinical issue.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the primary drugs for preventing and treating gastric ulcers, but clinical evidence for their role in preventing post-ligation esophageal ulcers is insufficient. Sucralfate, a complex of aluminum hydroxide and sucrose octa sulfate, can bind to the wound base. This protective barrier can prevent the wound from further environmental injury. Sucralfate has been widely used for wounds and ulcer treatment, e.g., skin wounds, oral ulcers, and peptic ulcers. Our recent clinical trial also proved topical sucralfate can prevent postpolypectomy bleeding. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the topical administration of sucralfate after standard endoscopic hemostasis can promote the esophageal ulcer healing and reduce the rebleeding event.

Interventions

• Drug Sucralfate
  3g of sucralfate powder through the endoscopy precisely on the EV ligation bands in the intervention group. Followingly, patients in the intervention group will receive oral sucralfate suspension 1g four times a day for 5 days.

Primary outcome measures

• post-EVL ulcers [Time frame: 5 days]

Secondary outcome measures (5)

• esophageal ulcer bleeding [Time frame: 14 days]
• esophageal varices rebleeding [Time frame: 14 days]
• total packed RBC transfusion during hospitalization [Time frame: 14 days]
• length of hospitalization [Time frame: 14 days]
• cirrhosis related mortality [Time frame: 14 days]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• cirrhotic patients aged ≥ 18 years who accept endoscopy for esophageal variceal bleeding

Exclusion criteria

• no need of endoscopic hemostasis
• allergy to sucralfate
• other etiology of bleeding than EV bleeding

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Publications

• Gralnek IM, Camus Duboc M, Garcia-Pagan JC, Fuccio L, Karstensen JG, Hucl T, Jovanovic I, Awadie H, Hernandez-Gea V, Tantau M, Ebigbo A, Ibrahim M, Vlachogiannakos J, Burgmans MC, Rosasco R, Triantafyllou K. Endoscopic diagnosis and management of esophagogastric variceal hemorrhage: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Guideline. Endoscopy. 2022 Nov;54(11):1094-1120. doi: 10.1055/ PMID 36174643
• Seo YS. Prevention and management of gastroesophageal varices. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2018 Mar;24(1):20-42. doi: 10.3350/cmh.2017.0064. Epub 2017 Dec 18. PMID 29249128
• Maruyama H, Yokosuka O. Pathophysiology of portal hypertension and esophageal varices. Int J Hepatol. 2012;2012:895787. doi: 10.1155/2012/895787. Epub 2012 May 15. PMID 22666604
• Chen CJ, Wu CC, Wei SL, Lin LJ, Lee WC, Chiang CJ, Chien RN, Lu SN. National strategy for elimination of liver diseases in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 2025 Dec;124 Suppl 2:S74-S83. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2025.09.008. Epub 2025 Sep 24. PMID 40993012

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07679191 · B-BR-115-050

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗