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Abdominal pain accompanied by weight loss may increase the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy: a Korean

Ki-Nam Shim1, Yong-Sik Kim, Kyung-Jo Kim

  • 1Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, and Yang Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology
|June 29, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Capsule endoscopy (CE) aids in diagnosing unexplained abdominal pain, especially when weight loss is present. This diagnostic tool offers valuable insights for patients with persistent GI symptoms not identified by other methods.

Area of Science:

  • Gastroenterology
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Endoscopy

Background:

  • Capsule endoscopy (CE) is established for obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.
  • Its utility for other small-bowel disorders is less defined.
  • Evaluating unexplained abdominal pain with CE requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the subgroup of patients with unexplained abdominal pain who would benefit from CE.
  • To assess the diagnostic yield of CE in this patient population.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 110 patients with unexplained abdominal pain.
  • Data collected from 12 tertiary referral centers (September 2002 - September 2004).
  • Inclusion criteria: patients with unexplained abdominal pain.

Main Results:

  • Successful small bowel visualization achieved in 69.1% of cases.
  • Positive findings explaining symptoms in 17.3% of patients (19/110).
  • Significant associations with positive CE findings included weight loss, elevated ESR, elevated CRP, and hypoalbuminemia. Weight loss was a significant independent risk factor (OR, 18.6; p=0.02).

Conclusions:

  • CE is a valuable tool for diagnosing unexplained abdominal pain when accompanied by weight loss.
  • CE can identify various small-bowel pathologies contributing to abdominal pain.
  • Further research may refine CE's role in specific abdominal pain subgroups.
Abstract

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