Long-term outcome in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding after negative capsule endoscopy

To investigate long-term outcome in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) after negative capsule endoscopy (CE) and identify risk factors for rebleeding.

A total of 113 consecutive patients underwent CE for OGIB from May 2003 to June 2010 at Seoul National University Hospital. Ninety-five patients (84.1%) with a subsequent follow-up after CE of at least 6 mo were enrolled in this study. Follow-up data were obtained from the patients' medical records. The CE images were reviewed by two board-certified gastroenterologists and consensus diagnosis was used in all cases. The primary outcome measure was the detection of rebleeding after CE, and factors associated with rebleeding were evaluated using multivariate analysis.

Of the 95 enrolled patients (median age 61 years, range 17-85 years), 62 patients (65.3%) were male. The median duration of follow-up was 23.7 mo (range 6.0-89.4 mo). Seventy-three patients (76.8%) underwent CE for obscure-overt bleeding. Complete examination of the small bowel was achieved in 77 cases (81.1%). Significant lesions were found in 38 patients (40.0%). The overall rebleeding rate was 28.4%. The rebleeding rate was higher in patients with positive CE (36.8%) than in those with negative CE (22.8%). However, there was no significant difference in cumulative rebleeding rates between the two groups (log rank test; P = 0.205). Anticoagulation after CE examination was an independent risk factor for rebleeding (hazard ratio, 5.019; 95%CI, 1.560-16.145; P = 0.007), regardless of CE results.

Patients with OGIB and negative CE have a potential risk of rebleeding. Therefore, close observation is required and alternative modalities should be considered in suspicious cases.