Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2016; 22(45): 9898-9908
Published online Dec 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i45.9898
Contraindications for video capsule endoscopy
Dirk Bandorski, Niehls Kurniawan, Peter Baltes, Reinhard Hoeltgen, Matthias Hecker, Dominik Stunder, Martin Keuchel
Dirk Bandorski, Matthias Hecker, University of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 35392 Giessen, Germany
Niehls Kurniawan, Peter Baltes, Martin Keuchel, Clinic for Internal Medicine, Bethesda Krankenhaus Bergedorf, Glindersweg, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
Reinhard Hoeltgen, Klinikum Westmünsterland, St. Agnes-Hospital Bocholt Rhede, Medical Clinic 1 Cardiology/Electrophysiology, Barloer Weg, 46397 Bocholt, Germany
Dominik Stunder, Research Center for Bioelectromagnetic Interaction (femu), Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Author contributions: Each author wrote a part of the paper; Bandorski D and Stunder D analyzed technical data of capsule endoscopy and implantable cardiac devices.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Baltes P and Keuchel M have received lecture fees from Covidien, Medtronic, Olympus; the other authors have nothing to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dirk Bandorski, MD, FESC, FACC, University of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, Klinikstrasse 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany. dirk.bandorski@hkw.med.uni-giessen.de
Telephone: +49-641-98542351 Fax: +49-641-98542359
Received: August 27, 2016
Peer-review started: August 31, 2016
First decision: September 12, 2016
Revised: October 9, 2016
Accepted: November 14, 2016
Article in press: November 16, 2016
Published online: December 7, 2016
Processing time: 101 Days and 16.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Video capsule endoscopy has emerged as a first line diagnostic tool for small bowel visualization. The few existing contraindications are discussed in this review and put into perspective. Special situations are to be considered for patients with gastrointestinal stenosis, swallowing and motility disorders, or implanted electromagnetic cardiac devices, pregnant women, young children, and magnetic resonance imaging for patients with a retained capsule. Appropriate precautions are discussed in this paper.