Capsule endoscopy in clinical practice: concise up-to-date overview

Anastasios Koulaouzidis, Sarah Douglas

Centre for Liver and Digestive Disorders, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Abstract: Until recently, the small bowel was considered a ‘no man’s land’ as the imaging modalities available for its investigation were laborious, invasive, costly, or involve significant radiation exposure. Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has changed the field dramatically, over the last eight years. The established indications for small bowel WCE are obscure gastrointestinal bleed/anemia, Crohn’s disease, hereditary polyposis syndromes, and to a lesser extent, evaluation of side effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and coeliac disease. We herein present an overview of the capsule examination, which seems to be a quickly improving area.

Keywords: capsule, imaging, small bowel, Crohn’s, celiac, GI bleed