Antibiotics for Fever After Gastric Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection May Be Unnecessary: A Propensity Score-Matching Analysis

Background: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely used and has gradually become the main endoscopic treatment for gastrointestinal mucosal and submucosal lesions. Whether antibiotics are necessary for fever after gastric ESD remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the value of the use of antibiotics for fever after ESD. Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with fever after ESD from January 2014 to January 2019 were included and divided into 2 groups: the antibiotic group and the non-antibiotic group. Fever and hospitalization time were compared between the 2 groups after propensity score (PS) matching. Results: A total of 451 patients with fever after ESD were included in the present study. with 240 patients in the non-antibiotics group and 211 patients in antibiotics group before matching and 96 patients in the non-antibiotics group and 96 patients in antibiotics group after matching with all baseline characteristics balanced (p > 0.05). Fever duration was not significantly different between the 2 groups (p=0.074). However, the median hospital stay in the antibiotic group was longer than that in the non-antibiotic group (8 vs 7, p=0.006). Conclusions: Antibiotics for fever after gastric ESD may be unnecessary.