Abstract:Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cold snare polypectomy (CSP) and hot snare polypectomy (HSP) for small polyps, and conduct a meta analysis.Methods Randomized-controlled trials were reviewed to compare CSP with HSP for resecting small colorectal polyps from 2010 to 2020, the literature was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software. The outcomes reviewed include polyp complete resection rate, recovery rate of polyp, postoperative complications and procedure time.Results 11 studies were reviewed in this meta-analysis, including 6 196 polyps. There was no significant difference in complete polyps resection rate between the cold snares and hot snares (91.96% vs 91.38%, P > 0.05, O = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.49~1.26); There was no significant difference in recovery rate of polyp (97.63% vs 98.21%, P > 0.05, O = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.61~1.36). Postoperative complications include abdominal pain, delayed bleeding rate and perforation, the incidence of abdominal pain after CSP was higher than HSP (2.61% vs 0.34%, P < 0.05, O = 9.75, 95%CI: 1.16~82.11). The perforation rate of HSP was higher than CSP (0.17% vs 0.00%), but the difference was no statistically significant (P > 0.05, O = 0.21, 95%CI: 0.01~4.49).The delayed bleeding rate of HSP was higher than CSP (0.87% vs 0.08%, P < 0.05, O = 0.23, 95%CI: 0.07~0.80). Procedure time includes total procedure time and polypectomy removal time. The total procedure time of HSP was longer than CSP (P < 0.05, MD = -7.44, 95%CI: -9.29~-5.60). The polypectomy removal time with HSP was longer than CSP (P < 0.05, MD = -0.33, 95%CI: -0.39~0.26).Conclusion The incidence of abdominal discomfort after CSP was higher than that of HSP, the rate of delayed bleeding in CSP was lower than HSP, and the operation time was shorter than HSP. There were no statistical difference in complete resection rate, polyp recovery rate and the incidence of perforation between the CSP and HSP. Therefore, we recommend CSP should be preferred as the method to remove small colorectal polyps ≤10 mm.