[Diagnostic value analysis of capsule endoscopy in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding patients of different ages]

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of capsular endoscopy in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) in different age groups, and assess its effectiveness and safety. Methods: A total of 216 patients who were diagnosed with OGIB between March 2005 and March 2016 at Department of Gastroenterology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. They were assigned into three groups: young adults, middle-aged and elderly. The demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, working performance as well as endoscopic features in each group were collected and analyzed. Results: The detection rate and diagnosis rate of the young adults and middle-aged group were 98.53% vs 98.51% (P=0.992), 92.65% vs 91.04% (P=0.734), while those between the young adults and the elderly group were 98.53% vs 91.14% (P=0.109), 92.65% vs 87.34% (P=0.289), and 98.51% vs 91.14% (P=0.113) and 91.04% vs 87.34 (P=0.475) between the middle-aged and elderly group. No significant difference existed in either detection rates nor diagnostic rates between the different age groups. The distribution of the small intestinal lesions varied between the different age groups. The top three common lesions in young adults were vascular malformation, small intestine ulcer and Crohn's disease, while in the middle-aged group vascular malformation, non-specific enteritis and small intestine ulcer were the most common. Patients in elderly group were most likely to have vascular malformation, small intestine ulcer and erosion. Conclusions: For patients of any age with OGIB, capsule endoscopy is a safe, effective and comfortable examination which can be widely used in clinical practice.