Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42909517›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of colorectal disease2026

Polidocanol foam sclerotherapy for patients with Goligher grade IV hemorrhoidal disease unwilling to undergo surgery: preliminary outcomes from a retrospective study with 6-month follow-up.

Gianpiero Gravante, Veronica De Simone, Arcangelo Picciariello, Roberto Sorge, Pierpaolo Sileri, Gaetano Gallo

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Article in International journal of colorectal disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Gianpiero GravanteDepartment of General Surgery, Azienda Sanitaria Locale ASL Lecce, Casarano, Italy.
Veronica De SimoneColorectal Surgery Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Vita-Salute University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
Arcangelo PicciarielloDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. arcangelo.picciariello@unisalento.it.
Roberto SorgeDepartment of Human Physiology, Laboratory of Biometry, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Pierpaolo SileriColorectal Surgery Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Vita-Salute University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
Gaetano GalloColorectal Surgery Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Vita-Salute University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPolidocanol foam (PF) sclerotherapy has shown promising results in low- and intermediate-grade hemorrhoidal disease (HD), but evidence in advanced stages remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate patient-reported outcomes following PF sclerotherapy in patients with Goligher grade IV HD who declined surgical treatment.

methodsThis retrospective analysis included patients with Goligher grade IV HD that declined hemorrhoidectomy after appropriate counseling and underwent 3% PF sclerotherapy between June and October 2025. Outcomes were assessed using symptom-focused subsets derived from the PROM-HISS and HDSS instruments at baseline, 7 days, 30 days, and 6 months. Primary outcome was the change in scores over time. Secondary outcomes included need for additional treatment, complications, and subsequent surgery.

resultsFifteen patients were included (mean age 58 ± 11 years; 53.3% male). At 6 months, 66.7% of patients requested no further hemorrhoidal treatment. Significant improvements were observed in both scores across all follow-up timepoints (p < 0.05). Pain, bleeding, and prolapse showed the most consistent reductions. One patient (6.7%) required hemorrhoidectomy within 30 days, four patients (26.7%) a second sclerotherapy session. No major complications were observed.

conclusionsIn selected patients with Goligher grade IV HD who are unwilling or unfit to undergo surgery, PF sclerotherapy may be associated with short-term symptom improvement and may represent a symptom-oriented minimally invasive option for selected patients unwilling or unfit to undergo surgery.

Indexed as

HemorrhoidsPolidocanolSclerotherapyAgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHemorrhoidectomyHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSclerosing SolutionsTreatment OutcomePolidocanolSclerosing SolutionsHemorrhoidsPelvic floor diseasesProctologySclerotherapy

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.