A Severance Hospital research team has revealed that a hemostatic powder made from plant extracts significantly improves the success rate of initial hemostasis in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding caused by peptic ulcers.

Peptic ulcers, which result from the digestive acid eroding the lining of the stomach or small intestine rather than digesting food, can lead to severe bleeding. If not promptly and effectively controlled, this bleeding can result in complications such as perforation of the organ wall or even death, especially in patients over 65, where the mortality rate can reach 10 percent.

Traditional treatments for this type of bleeding have included vascular clip application, thermal coagulation, and electrocoagulation, all of which require significant time and expertise to perform successfully.

Recently, the treatment method of sprinkling powder on the affected area has been used more frequently because it shortens the treatment time and is easy to use, and the physician's skill level does not significantly influence the treatment outcome. Moreover, the plant-derived ingredients have almost no side effects. However, there has been no research confirming the treatment effect until now.

To confirm the treatment's efficacy, the research team, led by Professors Park Jun-chul and Jung Da-hyun of the Department of Internal Medicine, conducted a study to verify the effect of the hemostatic powder on 216 patients who visited the emergency rooms of four hospitals in Korea due to bleeding from peptic ulcers.

The study compared the effectiveness of the plant-extract-based hemostatic powder to traditional methods. The powder, which is derived from plant starches and contains absorbent polymers (AMPs) that promote rapid regeneration and hemostasis at the wound site, was found to have an initial hemostasis success rate of 87.6 percent in the treated group (105 patients), slightly higher than the 86.5 percent success rate in the group treated with traditional methods (111 patients).

Notably, in cases where the ulcer had eroded to the point of exposing underlying arterial vessels, the powder achieved a 100 percent success rate in initial hemostasis, compared to 86.4 percent with conventional treatments.

The study also found no significant difference in the rate of rebleeding 30 days after the procedure between the two groups.

"Peptic ulcer bleeding, whose prevalence has been rising steeply in recent years, can lead to perforation and death, making it critical to treat it quickly," Professor Park said. "This is the first prospective randomized trial to confirm the efficacy of a vegetable-based hemostatic powder, and we believe it will help improve outcomes through aggressive early hemostasis."

The results of the research were published in the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.