Clinical application and feasibility of capsule endoscopy in children at a medical center in central Taiwan

Background purpose: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a noninvasive examination for excellent visualization of small bowel mucosal lesions. We aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of CE in pediatric patients. Methods: From April 2014 to December 2022, CE procedures performed in children younge...

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Main Authors: Yi-Jun Liao, Wan-Tzu Lin, Szu-Chia Liao, Shao-Ju Lin, Yen-Chu Huang, Meng-Che Wu, Chieh-Chung Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664624002882
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Summary:Background purpose: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a noninvasive examination for excellent visualization of small bowel mucosal lesions. We aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of CE in pediatric patients. Methods: From April 2014 to December 2022, CE procedures performed in children younger than 18 years of age at Taichung Veteran General Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among 136 procedures, the completion rate was 95.6% (n = 130), with a median age of 14 years old. Suspicion or evaluation of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) (41%) was the most common indication for CE. Other common indications of CE were chronic unexplained abdominal pain (35%) and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding or iron deficiency anemia (21%). No procedure-related complications occurred. The diagnosis of those patients with incomplete study were CD with small bowel stricture, graft-versus-host disease and duodenal ulcers. A total of 86 CE procedures showed positive findings, and the overall diagnostic yield rate was 63.2%. Small bowel ulcers (65.12%) were the most common findings. Overall, 26.5% of CE examinations resulted in a new diagnosis and 44.9% of CE exams led to a change in therapy. For patients with IBD, CE findings resulted in an even higher therapeutic change rate of 48.1%. Conclusion: CE is a safe and feasible diagnostic method to study the small intestine in children, especially for IBD. Incomplete study could be an indicator of positive finding and can potentially be a guide to identify the site of possible strictures.
ISSN:0929-6646