Haemorrhoid Research & Development

Our patient pathway is unique

At eXroid, we have the benefit of speaking to sufferers of Haemorrhoids and associated symptoms from the very start of their journey; this puts us in a unique position to understand contributing factors, changes in symptoms over time and with intervention (treatment). We analyse this data to improve the advice & care we provide.

Clinical Research & publication

We have undertaken over 4000 treatments in the UK and are gaining valuable insight and understanding in the progression and changes in this disease. We undertake analysis of these treatments regularly, to understand the occurrence and prevalence and aim to publish findings so that both sufferers and medical professionals can access more data into this area in order to improve service and advice currently available.

Published data

Since eXroid’s launch in 2019, we have collected all data relating to the treatment of our patients with all 4 grades of haemorrhoid, with the aim of publishing this when enough data has been collected to show really powerful treatment responses across all 4 grades of disease.

An abstract summarising the information from the first 812 patients treated was accepted by the Association of Coloproctologists of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) for presentation at their annual conference in July 2021 and has now been published in the September 2021 edition of the medical journal, Colorectal Disease. It details a very compelling case for the safety and tolerability of the eXroid treatment.

In addition, a further abstract outlining the use of our copyrighted diagnostic tool, the eXroid Clockface Assessment Tool (eCAT), has also been accepted and has been published in the same journal. Furthermore, 3 more abstracts have been accepted by the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP), and were presented as e-posters at the September (virtual) annual conference. Those abstracts to be published in due course, also in Colorectal Disease.

These highlight the safety of eXroid treatment for all 4 grades of internal haemorrhoids, including those patients taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet treatments, with a very low risk of bleeding or other complications when compared to the published figures for other commonly performed treatments. Take a closer look at the results of each study below.

NICE guidance & electrotherapy published data

Direct Current Electrotherapy (DCE) was first used as a treatment for the management of internal haemorrhoids in the 19th century, with the first medical publication in 1867 on the use of galvanic current to treat internal haemorrhoids. The subsequent history of the use of DCE is an interesting one. Attempts at commercialising the technology have been made in the past with the Keesey machine in the 1920’s and the Ultroid device developed in the late 1980’s. When it was realised that there were no manufacturers of the technology from whom to source a DCE device, eXroid Technology Ltd was established and completed the design, development and manufacture of the eXroid Haemorrhoid Treatment System in the UK. It gained its ISO13485:2016 and CE accreditations before being launched into clinical use in March 2019 in the UK.

Previously, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) had recognised DCE as a safe and effective treatment for treating internal haemorrhoids from grades 1-3, with guidance being published in June 2015. In December 2019, NICE then published a MedTech Innovation Briefing (MIB201) which provided guidance that stated that the eXroid brand of DCE was safe and effective and could be used to treat patients suffering from internal haemorrhoids grade 1-3. NICE stated they wanted to see more peer-reviewed and published data before it would add grade 4 to the guidance as well. In the USA, however, the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration), has issued approval for the use of DCE to treat all 4 grades of haemorrhoid, indeed, it is the only treatment for haemorrhoids that has been so classified in the USA.

Haemorrhoid sufferer study

Understanding the disease and symptoms

This year we commissioned some much-needed research into haemorrhoid sufferers. This research is pivotal to discern sufferers’ understanding of the disease, different Haemorrhoid treatments available and the key barriers that deter sufferers from seeking treatment.

Here are the key findings we found around sufferers’ understanding of the disease and how the disease impacts them:

Straining, constipation, and diet were believed to be the top causes of haemorrhoids when asked what they believed causes haemorrhoids.

• 54% believe ‘Straining when doing a poo’ caused their piles.
• 42% believe ’Constipation’ caused their piles (60% of under 30s believe this to be true).
• 38% believe their piles are caused by ‘Poor diet / not eating enough fibre’.

Our research confirmed that there is a wide array of symptoms that haemorrhoid sufferers can experience, making the disease hard to diagnose. On average, sufferers experience 4.9 symptoms and are likely to have experienced multiple bouts in the last year, which are known as flare-ups.

• 67% of sufferers experience an itchy bottom – this increases to 70% for people age 40-60.
• 63% can feel or see a lump near the anus – this increases to 67% for women.
• 48% have had 4 or more flare ups in the last year.

Our investigation also underlined that there is a very limited understanding of haemorrhoids, even amongst sufferers - half did not know what their type or grade of piles actually were.

• 15% of sufferers have had their piles diagnosed but don’t know whether they are internal, external or thrombosed…whilst 38% have not had their piles diagnosed at all!
• 24% of sufferers are aware of grades but don’t know which grade theirs is
• 44% aren’t aware of grades at all – this increases to 57% for over 60s

So, our research found that while the causes of hemorrhoids are generally well understood, sufferers have a low awareness on the different type and grades of hemorrhoids. Symptoms do vary significantly for each sufferer, which can make the diagnosis of the disease very difficult.

For more information on the different piles symptoms, how to manage these symptoms and the different type of haemorrhoids, head to our advice centre.

eXroid®: Fully Regulated and Accredited

As a medical device manufacturer, all of our equipment is made and developed in the UK and we are proud to be CE and ISO 13485 accredited by the British Standards Institution BSi.

Our service has been evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) who have produced two sets of approval guidelines which accredit the treatment as safe and effective (IPG525 and MIB201). eXroid is a registered and regulated service Provider with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and is rated as excellent, as we strive for the highest levels of care and service standards.

The eXroid service is also PCI DSS compliant, giving both financial assurance and security to our patients when they make their payments with us.