Capsule endoscopy and single-balloon enteroscopy in small bowel diseases: Competing or complementary?

Table 1 Patient characteristics and indications for single-balloon enteroscopy and capsule endoscopy

	CE	SBE	Both (CE prior to SBE)	P value (CE vs SBE)
No. of patients	401	353	47
Age (yr)	49.4 ± 16.0	42.1 ± 15.8	45.3 ± 15.1	< 0.01
Mean (range)	(13-85)	(11-84)	(15-77)
Male/female	248/153	235/118	38/9	0.177
Main indications, n (%)
OGIB	207 (51.6)	80 (22.7)	30 (63.8)
Abdominal pain	133 (31.2)	184 (52.1)	11 (23.4)
Diarrhea	30 (7.5)	52 (14.7)	1 (2.1)
Other	31 (7.7)	37 (10.5)	5 (10.6)

CE: Capsule endoscopy; SBE: Single-balloon enteroscopy; OGIB: Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

Table 2 Comparison of findings between single-balloon enteroscopy and capsule endoscopy n (%)

Findings	CE (n = 401)	SBE (n = 353)
Overall detection rate	231 (57.6)	246 (69.7)
Superficial ulcer and erosion	98 (42.4)	111 (45.1)
Angiodysplasia	67 (29.0)	21 (8.5)
Mass	24 (10.4)	26 (10.6)
Crohn’s disease	26 (11.3)	86 (35.0)
Parasites	13 (5.6)	1 (0.4)
Diverticulum	6 (2.6)	3 (1.2)
Bleeding	5 (2.2)	0

CE: Capsule endoscopy; SBE: Single-balloon enteroscopy.

Table 3 Subgroup analysis of the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy or single-balloon enteroscopy in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding or non-bleeding patients

	Diagnostic yield (%)		P value
	OGIB	Non-bleeding
CE	70.5	43.8	< 0.01
SBE	72.5	68.9	0.534

OGIB: Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding; CE: Capsule endoscopy; SBE: Single-balloon enteroscopy.

Table 4 Identification of positive findings on prior capsule endoscopy or single-balloon enteroscopy

Findings	CE: negative diagnosis	CE: definite diagnosis	CE: definite diagnosis
	SBE: definite diagnosis	SBE: definite diagnosis	SBE: negative diagnosis
Angiodysplasia		9
Erosion and superficial ulcer	2	18
Mass		3	1
Crohn’s disease		11	2
Parasites		1

CE: Capsule endoscopy; SBE: Single-balloon enteroscopy.