Introduction:

Chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis (CHRP) appears secondary to pelvic radiotherapy. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) is an effective, safe, easy-to-use, and relatively inexpensive therapy.

Objective:

To describe the short- and long-term therapeutic response of APC in patients with CHRP, as well as to evaluate the quality of life before and after the intervention.

Material and Methods:

Observational, prospective case series study of 46 patients with CHRP, treated at the National Center for Minimally Access Surgery between 2017 and 2020. Summary measures and comparison of means (paired Student's t-test) were used for baseline and final hemoglobin, as well as for the quality of life scores applied before and after the intervention. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the recurrence free time. A level of significance less than 0.05 was estimated for a 95 % confidence interval.

Results:

A mean of 3,6 ± 2,394 APC sessions was required. The mean hemoglobin increased 1,9 g / L. Short-term therapeutic response was observed in 100 % of patients, and long-term in 91,3 %. The mean score for quality of life decreased by 12,065 points (p˂ 0,00). The perceived global perception increased by a mean of 7,326 points (p˂ 0,00).

Conclusions:

APC has a good therapeutic response in the short and long term with few sessions and a low number of complications, with an improvement in the quality of life of the patients.

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