Effectiveness of Hemopatch® versus Surgicel® Original to control mild and moderate liver bleeding

BACKGROUND: Adjunct hemostats can be of use in certain surgical settings. We compared the effectiveness of two hemostats, Hemopatch® and Surgicel® Original in controlling bleeding from liver lesions in an experimental model. METHODS: Control of grades 1 (mild) and 2 (moderate) bleeding (according to the Validated Intraoperative Bleeding [VIBe] SCALE) was assessed for 10 min after Hemopatch® (n = 198) or Surgicel® Original (n = 199) application on 397 liver surface lesions. The primary endpoint was hemostatic success (reaching VIBe SCALE grade 0 at 10 min). The secondary endpoint was time to hemostasis (time to reach and maintain grade 0). A generalized linear mixed model and an accelerated failure time model were used to assess the primary and secondary endpoints, respectively. RESULTS: The overall hemostatic success rate of Hemopatch® was statistically significantly superior to that of Surgicel® Original (83.8% versus 73.4%; p = 0.0036; odds ratio [OR] 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33–4.27) and time to hemostasis was reduced by 15.9% (p = 0.0032; 95% CI 0.749–0.944). Grade 2 bleeds treated with Hemopatch® had statistically significantly higher hemostatic success (71.7% versus 48.5%; p = 0.0007; OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.58–5.58) and shorter time to hemostasis (49.6% reduction, p = 3.6 × 10(–8)); differences for grade 1 bleeds (hemostatic success rate or time to hemostasis) were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Hemopatch® provided better control of VIBe SCALE bleeding compared to Surgicel® Original for Grade 2 bleeds in this porcine model, highlighting the importance of choosing a suitable hemostat to optimize control of bleeding during surgery.