Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2013; 19(29): 4732-4736
Published online Aug 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i29.4732
Utility of single and double balloon endoscopy in patients with difficult colonoscopy: A randomized controlled trial
Atsuo Yamada, Hirotsugu Watabe, Noriyuki Takano, Goichi Togo, Yutaka Yamaji, Haruhiko Yoshida, Takao Kawabe, Masao Omata, Kazuhiko Koike
Atsuo Yamada, Hirotsugu Watabe, Noriyuki Takano, Goichi Togo, Yutaka Yamaji, Haruhiko Yoshida, Takao Kawabe, Masao Omata, Kazuhiko Koike, Department of Gastroenterology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Author contributions: Togo G, Yamaji Y, Yoshida H, Kawabe T and Omata M designed the research; Yamada A, Watabe H and Takano N performed the research and analyzed the data and wrote the paper; Yoshida H and Koike K had final approval of the version to be published.
Supported by Olympus Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence to: Dr. Atsuo Yamada, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan. yamada-a@umin.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-38155411 Fax: +81-3-38140021
Received: March 1, 2013
Revised: April 15, 2013
Accepted: May 16, 2013
Published online: August 7, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: We compared the utility of single-balloon colonoscopy and double-balloon colonoscopy for difficult colonoscopy. Both single-balloon endoscopy (SBE) and double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) make possible performance of total colonoscopy in patients with incomplete colonoscopy using a conventional colonoscope. The utility of SBE and DBE for colonoscopy seems to be comparable. We recommend that patients with incomplete total colonoscopy undergo SBE or DBE.