Is the folk medicine known as "The Secret" efficient in reducing bleeding after percutaneous coronary procedures?: a double-blinded, randomised trial.

AIM: Percutaneous coronary interventions require an arterial approach and administration of antithrombotic drugs. This may lead to bleeding complications. The aim of this study was to test whether "The Secret" - a pagan prayer - is effective in reducing post-interventional bleeding.

DESIGN

Randomised controlled trial.

SETTING

Monocentric, tertiary care centre.

PARTICIPANTS

From January to July 2022, 200 patients (aged >18 years) undergoing elective coronary angiography were included in the study.

INTERVENTION: The intervention group received "The Secret" in addition to the normal procedure. The control group was treated according to standard practice.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the rate of in-hospital bleeding according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) consensus definition.

RESULTS

The rate of bleeding was similar in both groups ("The Secret" group vs control group) with 16% versus 14% (p=0.69) of BARC 1, 12% versus 13% (p=0.81) of BARC 2, and 0% versus 0% of BARC 3 and 5 (p=1.00). Most (76%) of the participants believed that "The Secret" would be efficient in preventing bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates no effect on bleeding after percutaneous coronary procedures. A large majority of our study population believe that "The Secret" can have a positive effect on their hospital care.