Wireless capsule video endoscopy compared to barium follow-through and computerised tomography in patients with suspected Crohn's disease - final report

Background. Wireless capsule endoscopy is a superior diagnostic tool to barium small bowel follow-through and enteroscopy in diagnosing patients with occult blood loss. Aim. To compare capsule endoscopy with barium follow-through and entero-computerised tomography in patients with suspected Crohn's disease. Subjects and methods. Thirty-five patients with suspected Crohn's disease underwent the three examinations. The radiologist and gastroenterologist were blinded to each other's results. In cases of discrepancy, colonoscopy and ileoscopy were performed. Results. Thirty-five patients (22 males), mean age 28.4 years, were included. Eighty-eight percent had abdominal pain, 83% had diarrhoea and 69% had weight loss. The diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy was 77% versus 23% and 20% of barium and computerised tomography examinations, respectively (P < 0.05). The capsule detected all of the lesions diagnosed by barium follow-through and entero-computerised tomography. Conclusions. Capsule endoscopy is a superior and more sensitive diagnostic tool than barium follow-through and entero-computerised tomography in patients with suspected Crohn's disease. (C) 2004 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.