Advancement of haemostatic self-assembling peptides in the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding: What role for PuraStat®?

PuraStat (R) is a novel self-assembling peptide (SAP) used as a haemostatic agent in endoscopy, with widespread application in surgical settings. While the current evidence, though deserving further expansion, demonstrates a good haemostatic performance profile for this substance, there remains significant heterogeneity among studies, and an analysis of this SAP as monotherapy is not always available. The recent study by Bellester et al in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy provided an optimal effectiveness profile of this SAP in 45 patients treated for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, particularly highlighting data on its use as monotherapy in upper GI bleeding. This invited article outlines the current evidence on PuraStat (R) and offers a commentary on the recently published study.