Small bowel capsule endoscopy: Where are we after almost 15 years of use?

Abstract

The development of capsule endoscopy (CE) in 2001 has given gastroenterologists the opportunity to investigate the small bowel in a non-invasive way. CE is most commonly performed for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, but other indications include diagnosis or follow-up of Crohn's disease, suspicion of a small bowel tumor, diagnosis and surveillance of hereditary polyposis syndromes, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced small bowel lesions and celiac disease. Almost fifteen years have passed since the release of the small bowel capsule. The purpose of this review is to offer the reader a brief but complete overview on small bowel CE anno 2014, including the technical and procedural aspects, the possible complications and the most important indications. We will end with some future perspectives of CE.

Role of capsule endoscopy in alarm features and non‐responsive celiac disease: A European multicenter study

“…When CE is compared with histology, the degree of concordance is close to 80% . Additionally, the CE interobserver agreement is good (86.5%) in naïve patients but it decreases when mucosal atrophy is mild …”

“…The majority of publications recommend CE after non‐response to a gluten‐free diet (GFD) and cases when symptoms and/or villous atrophy persist. The main goal of the technique is to rule out possible complications such as SB ulcerations or ulcerative jejunoileitis and tumors such as enteropathy‐associated T‐cell lymphoma (EATL). Data from several studies have shown ranges from 8% to 14% in the detection of malignancy .…”

Sangrado del intestino delgado: enfoque y tratamiento

“…Hasta el momento, la VCE disponible es una herramienta diagnóstica. Sin embargo, ya existen prototipos que permiten tomar biopsias o liberar materiales hemostáticos (36). Las características de las VCE disponibles se resumen en la Tabla 2.…”

Gastrointestinal diagnosis using non-white light imaging capsule endoscopy

“…technologies to capsule endoscopy, some of which are at a more advanced stage of testing than others. 8 • Integrating specific diagnostic imaging technologies into capsule endoscopy devices enables submucosal 9…”

“…[H1]CLINICAL USE OF CAPSULE ENDOSCOPY 17 18 The ability to investigate small bowel pathology, particularly in segments inaccessible by conventional endoscopy, 19 has been the cardinal motive for the development of WLI CE systems. Additional advantages of CE over 20 conventional endoscopy include removing the need for patient sedation, increased patient acceptance and reduced 21 costs [8][9][10] . Recommendations for the use of CE systems in the colon remain primarily confined to surveillance for 22 patients with an incomplete assessment or contraindications to conventional endoscopy, which is more sensitive and 23 offer interventional options 1 .…”