[Clinical value of capsule endoscopy in small intestinal diseases]

Objective: To analyze the clinical value of capsule endoscopy (CE) in small intestinal diseases and to explore the correlation between the diagnosis and clinical characteristics. Methods: From June 2016 to April 2019, a total of 194 patients receiving CE were enrolled in the Department of Gastroenterology, Shanxi People's Hospital, including 68 patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, 104 with chronic abdominal pain and 22 with diarrhea. Results: The detection rate of small intestinal lesions by CE was 53.6%(104/194), of which gastrointestinal bleeding was 66.2% (45/68), chronic abdominal pain was 53.8%(56/104), and diarrhea was 13.6%(3/22). The first three positive diagnostic criteria of CE for gastrointestinal bleeding were non-specific inflammation, small intestinal ulcer and vascular malformation. CE findings in patients with abdominal pain were non-specific inflammation, small intestinal ulcer and Crohn's disease; while the major endoscopic presentations in patients with diarrhea were small intestinal ulcer and non-specific inflammation. Logistic regression analysis suggested that the clinical manifestations and gender were correlated with positive diagnosis by CE (P<0.05), and the positive diagnostic rate of CE in female patients was significantly lower than that in male patients [31.6%(25/79) vs. 51.3%(59/115), P<0.05]. The diagnostic rates of CE in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding and chronic abdominal pain were similar [55.9%(38/68) vs. 41.4%(43/104)], which was significantly higher than those with diarrhea [9.1%(2/22), P<0.05]. Conclusions: Capsule endoscopy has a high detection rate for small intestinal diseases, which could be the first choice in patients with unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding. Male patients and gastrointestinal bleeding are predictors of positive findings by CE.