THE APPLICATIONS OF CAPSULE ENDOSCOPY IN IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AND VARIOUS OTHER GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES
Silpa Choday* and Keng-Yu Chuang
ABSTRACT
Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has been around for three decades. It has been recognized gradually in the community to diagnose small intestinal disorders; today, it has become the gold standard. This review summarizes the use of VCE in Iron deficiency anemia and new practical applications in and outside the small intestine. VCE is a non-invasive procedure to directly visualize the gastrointestinal (GI) tract using a small capsule-shaped camera that can swallow. Its initial intent was to examine the small bowel, a limitation of a conventional endoscope. It is used to explore the entire length of the GI tract. It requires a thorough bowel preparation and a specific device to view the images. It is an outpatient exam with an acceptable tolerance to the patients. There are several indications for its use, including iron deficiency anemia, obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's to detect extension and phenotype, hereditary polyposis, and celiac disease. Therapeutic options are not included and require an assisted enteroscopy if a lesion is detected. Using a dissolvable patency capsule lowers the risk of mechanical intestinal occlusion. The colon capsule technology is up-and-coming for colorectal cancer screening and managing inflammatory bowel diseases. It offers gastroenterologists a new device to investigate the upper and lower GI tract with good future potential. The advantages of VCE are that it does not require any sedation under anesthesia or special training. The videos can be shared with off-site consultants.
Keywords: .
[Full Text Article]
[Download Certificate]
Impact Factor : 8.181 
