Research Report
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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2014; 20(14): 4025-4029
Published online Apr 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i14.4025
Non-small-bowel abnormalities identified during small bowel capsule endoscopy
Reinier A Hoedemaker, Jessie Westerhof, Rinse K Weersma, Jan J Koornstra
Reinier A Hoedemaker, Jessie Westerhof, Rinse K Weersma, Jan J Koornstra, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Hoedemaker RA and Westerhof J acquired the data, performed statistical analysis and wrote the manuscript; Weersma RK and Koornstra JJ were responsible for the study concept and design, and were involved in editing the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Jan J Koornstra, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands. j.j.koornstra@umcg.nl
Telephone: +31-50-3613354 Fax: +31-50-3619306
Received: August 30, 2012
Revised: April 20, 2013
Accepted: May 18, 2013
Published online: April 14, 2014
Processing time: 591 Days and 19.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a technique to detect small bowel pathology which sometimes reveals non-small bowel abnormalities (NSBAs). There are no data on the incidence of NSBAs in capsule endoscopy. In this study, 595 capsule endoscopy procedures were included. Abnormalities were found in 306 (51.4%) of cases. Of these 306 patients, 85 (27.7%) had abnormalities within reach of conventional endoscopes. The fact that a significant proportion of patients referred for small bowel CE had lesions within the reach of conventional endoscopes indicates that CE was unnecessarily performed and emphasizes the importance of critical selection of patients for capsule endoscopy.