Published online Dec 16, 2018. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v10.i12.400
Peer-review started: July 27, 2018
First decision: August 20, 2018
Revised: August 31, 2018
Accepted: November 15, 2018
Article in press: November 15, 2018
Published online: December 16, 2018
Processing time: 149 Days and 2.9 Hours
To compare the diagnostic accuracy of video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in cases of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) of vascular origin.
MEDLINE (via PubMed), LILACS (via BVS) and Cochrane/CENTRAL virtual databases were searched for studies dated before 2017. We identified prospective and retrospective studies, including observational, cohort, single-blinded and multicenter studies, comparing VCE and DBE for the diagnosis of OGIB, and data of all the vascular sources of bleeding were collected. All patients were subjected to the same gold standard method. Relevant data were then extracted from each included study using a standardized extraction form. We calculated study variables (sensitivity, specificity, prevalence, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy) and performed a meta-analysis using Meta-Disc software.
In the per-patient analysis, 17 studies (1477 lesions) were included. We identified 3150 exams (1722 VCE and 1428 DBE) in 2043 patients and identified 2248 sources of bleeding, 1467 of which were from vascular lesions. Of these lesions, 864 (58.5%) were diagnosed by VCE, and 613 (41.5%) were diagnosed by DBE. The pretest probability for bleeding of vascular origin was 54.34%. The sensitivity of DBE was 84% (95%CI: 0.82-0.86; heterogeneity: 78.00%), and the specificity was 92% (95%CI: 0.89-0.94; heterogeneity: 92.0%). For DBE, the positive likelihood ratio was 11.29 (95%CI: 4.83-26.40; heterogeneity: 91.6%), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.20 (95%CI: 0.15-0.27; heterogeneity: 67.3%). Performing DBE after CE increased the diagnostic yield of vascular lesion by 7%, from 83% to 90%.
The diagnostic accuracy of detecting small bowel bleeding from a vascular source is increased with the use of an isolated video capsule endoscope compared with isolated DBE. However, concomitant use increases the detection rate of the bleeding source.
Core tip: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the diagnostic accuracy of video capsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in cases of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding of vascular origin. This is the first systematic review in this setting. We observed that the diagnostic accuracy of detecting small bowel bleeding from a vascular source is increased with the use of an isolated video capsule endoscope compared with isolated DBE. However, concomitant use increases the detection rate of the bleeding source.