Video capsule endoscopy: clinical relevance of capsule endoscopy findings

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is a novel diagnostic tool for noninvasively visualizing the lumen of the entire small intestine. It is especially useful in identifying the source of obscure small intestinal bleeding. However, VCE is not always optimal for localizing small bowel lesions. Several studies show VCE to be markedly superior to standard diagnostic techniques although the true clinical relevance of many of the capsule endoscopic findings remain unknown. We present two case reports of VCE findings that resulted in surgical intervention but were found to be benign lesions on definitive pathological examination. The actual clinical relevance of many of the lesions found on VCE thus remains to be demonstrated.