Study: Capsule endoscopy effective in finding obscure GI bleeding

Capsule endoscopy shows better diagnostic results compared to push endoscopy in efforts to identify lesions responsible for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, according to a report published in the March issue of Gastroenterology. The researchers have said they believe that capsule endoscopy should be the initial test performed in patients with such bleeding. The study did a comparison between the diagnostic results of capsule endoscopy and push endoscopy in 78 patients. Each underwent one of these procedures as the first-line exploration. This was followed by the alternative procedure only if the first method was negative or ifit was absolutely necessary during follow-up. The researchers identified a defined bleeding site in 20 of 40 patients who underwent capsule endoscopy initially, compared with 9 of 38 push endoscopy patients. In the end, they found that capsule endoscopy patients were over three times more likely to have bleeding areas located.