Endoscopic polidocanol foam sclerobanding for the treatment of grade II-III internal hemorrhoids: A prospective, multi-center, randomized study

Table 1 Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients in the endoscopic rubber band ligation and endoscopic foam sclerobanding groups

Characteristic	Total patients, n = 195	ERBL, n = 97	EFSB, n = 98	P value
Male sex	108 (55.4)	58 (59.8)	50 (51.0)	0.250
Age in years	46.0 (40.0-50.0)	47.0 (40.5-50.0)	45.0 (39.5-50.0)	0.948
Goligher classification
Grade II	137 (70.3)	71 (73.2)	66 (67.3)	0.231
Grade III	58 (29.7)	26 (26.8)	32 (32.7)
Haemorrhoid severity score	8.0 (6.0-9.0)	9.0 (7.5-10.0)	8.00 (6.00-9.25)	0.564
Body mass index in kg/m2	21.7 (20.0-23.0)	20.7 (19.0-22.1)	21.8 (20.0-23.2)	0.896
Haemoglobin in g/L	130.0 (125.0-138.0)	129.0 (123.0-139.0)	134.5 (125.0-138.0)	0.319
Prothrombin time in sec	12.0 (11.0-12.0)	12.0 (11.0-12.0)	11.0 (10.1-12.8)	0.752
Alanine aminotransferase in U/L	25.0 (16.9-33.0)	25.0 (15.0-33.0)	24.0 (19.0-32.3)	0.316

Continuous variables are medians (interquartile ranges) and compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data are percentages and analysed using the χ² test. EFSB: Endoscopic foam sclerobanding; ERBL: Endoscopic rubber band ligation.

Table 2 Comparison of post-procedural pain of patients in the endoscopic rubber band ligation and endoscopic foam sclerobanding groups

Visual analogue scale	Total patients, n = 195	ERBL, n = 97	EFSB, n = 98	P value
T11
None-mild, ≤ 2	103 (52.8)	39 (40.2)	64 (65.3)	0.001
Moderate, 3-6	90 (46.2)	56 (57.7)	34 (34.7)
Severe, ≥ 7	2 (1.0)	2 (2.1)	0 (0)
T22
None-mild, ≤ 2	175 (89.7)	85 (87.6)	90 (91.8)	0.232
Moderate, 3-6	20 (10.3)	12 (12.4)	8 (8.2)
Severe, ≥ 7	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)

¹T1: 24 hours post-procedure.

²T2: 1 week post-procedure.

Count data are percentages and analysed using the χ² test.