Abstract

Background
/Aims: The aim of our study is to investigate the diagnostic value and safety of capsule endoscopy (CE) in the pediatric patients with small bowel (SB) disease.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the records of 29 children (mean age: 11.8 year) who underwent CE at Seoul National University Children's Hospital between November 2004 and April 2009.
Results
Six (20%) of the total 29 patients could not swallow the capsule (mean age: 10.5 years), so the capsule was endoscopically placed into the stomach of these 6 patients. The CE examination for the entire SB was finished in 89.6% of the patients. The indications for CE studies were obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) or anemia in 14 patients, intestinal polyposis in 8, abdominal pain in 4 and Crohn's disease in 3. The diagnostic yield of CE was 35.7% for OGIB or anemia, 37.5% for intestinal polyposis, 25% for abdominal pain and 33.3% for Crohn's disease. One patient had capsule retention during our CE investigations.
Conclusions
CE is a safe and valuable tool for the detection of SB Crohn's disease, the focus of OGIB and the presence of SB polyps in pediatric patients. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2009;39:346-351)

• Keywords: Capsule endoscopy, Child, Small bowel disease, Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn's disease