Regular diet is non-inferior to restricted diet after polypectomy with decreased hospitalization length of stay and cost: a randomized-controlled trial

Background There are no data comparing a regular diet with a restricted diet after endoscopic polypectomy in patients with colorectal polyps. The current guidelines also did not provide the detailed information of dietary patterns after polypectomy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of different diets on post-polypectomy outcomes. Methods A total of 302 patients with colorectal polyps who underwent polypectomy were prospectively enrolled between March 2019 and December 2019 in Nanfang Hospital (Guangzhou, China). Enrolled patients were then randomly assigned to a regular diet group or a restricted diet group after polypectomy. The study is a non-inferior design and the primary end point was the post-operative adverse events (AE) rate. Secondary end points included length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization cost. Results Among all the included patients, 148 patients received a restricted diet and 154 patients received a regular diet after polypectomy. A total of 376 polyps were removed, with 183 polyps in the restricted diet group and 193 polyps in the regular diet group. Shorter LOS (4.0 +/- 1.4 vs 4.8 +/- 1.7, P < 0.001) and lower hospitalization costs (7,701.63 +/- 2,579.07 vs 8,656.05 +/- 3,138.53, P = 0.001) were observed in the regular diet group. In particular, there was no significant difference in 3-day AE rates between the restricted diet and the regular diet group (1.35% [2/148] vs 2.60% [4/154], P = 0.685). Subgroup analysis looking at the number of polyps removed in each patient and different treatment modalities also showed similar findings. Conclusion Regular diet should be recommended after polypectomy for polyps <20 mm as it can shorten LOS and save hospitalization costs.