[Experience with capsule endoscopy diagnostic tool for the small intestine]

Wireless capsule endoscopy (CE) is a relatively new method to evaluate the small intestine.To evaluate the indications of CE in our center and assess whether specific indications are associated with best results during CE studies.Retrospective analysis of 69 patients aged 9 to 85 years (36 males) subjected to a CE at our institution between April 2004 and October 2007.The most common indications for CE were overt gastrointestinal bleeding in 43.5% of patients, iron deficiency anemia in 39.1 %, suspicion of a small bowel tumor in 4.3%, chronic diarrhea in 4.3% and abdominal pain in 2.9%. CE was normal in 23.2% and was able to find lesions in 76.8% of the studies. Gastrointestinal bleeding, followed by iron deficiency anemia were the indications associated with the higher rates of positive findings during CE.Gastrointestinal bleeding and iron deficiency anemia were the indications that obtained the best diagnostic yield for CE.