Korean J Gastrointest Endosc.  2005 Sep;31(3):140-146.

The Usefulness of Capsule Endoscopy in Patients with Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Affiliations
  • 1Institute for Digestive Research, Department of Internal Medicine, Soon Chun Hyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. schidr@hosp.sch.ac.kr

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) is defined as recurrent bleeding for which no source has been identified by routine endoscopic and contrast studies. This study was performed to determine the utility of capsule endoscopy in patients with OGIB.
METHODS
This retrospective study included 21 patients with GIB which were not identified by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy. Those were sixteen patients with overt OGIB (including 6 ongoing overt bleeding) and five with occult OGIB. All underwent capsule endoscopy with Given M2A video capsule system.
RESULTS
Definite bleeding of small intestine were identified in 9 of 21 patients (42.9%) and 8 of 9 patients presenting as overt OGIB (50.0%, 8/16). Additionally, 5 of 6 patients with ongoing bleeding on the day of capsule endoscopy were found to have the lesion in small intestine (83.3%, 5/6). Ulcers were found in 6 patients, diverticulitis in 2 patients, and a tumor in 1 patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Capsule endoscopy, providing a good visualization of small intestine, is safe and well tolerated. Capsule endoscopy is an useful diagnostic tool for OGIB, especially for ongoing overt bleeding, and can guide the subsequent therapy and expand diagnostic yield in OGIB.

Keyword

Capsule endoscopy; Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding; Small intestine

MeSH Terms

Capsule Endoscopy*
Colonoscopy
Diverticulitis
Endoscopy, Digestive System
Hemorrhage*
Humans
Intestine, Small
Retrospective Studies
Ulcer
Full Text Links
  • KJGE
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr