Brief Article
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2013; 19(23): 3665-3671
Published online Jun 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i23.3665
Double-balloon enteroscopy in small bowel tumors: A Chinese single-center study
Wen-Guo Chen, Guo-Dong Shan, Hong Zhang, Lin Li, Min Yue, Zun Xiang, Ying Cheng, Chen-Jiao Wu, Ying Fang, Li-Hua Chen
Wen-Guo Chen, Guo-Dong Shan, Hong Zhang, Lin Li, Min Yue, Zun Xiang, Li-Hua Chen, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Ying Cheng, Chen-Jiao Wu, Ying Fang, Department of Endoscopy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Chen WG, Chen LH, Shan GD, Zhang H, Li L, Yue M, Xiang Z, Fang Y, Cheng Y and Wu CJ performed the research; Chen WG, Chen LH were involved in designing the study and editing the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Li-Hua Chen, Master, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, No. 79, Qingchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China. feng20081234@163.com
Telephone: +86-571-87236729 Fax: +86-571-87236611
Received: February 4, 2013
Revised: March 30, 2013
Accepted: May 16, 2013
Published online: June 21, 2013
Processing time: 135 Days and 17.9 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To analyze the clinical characteristics of small bowel tumors detected by double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) and to evaluate the diagnostic value of DBE in tumors.

METHODS: Four hundred and forty consecutive DBE examinations were performed in 400 patients (250 males and 150 females, mean age 46.9 ± 16.3 years, range 14-86 years) between January 2007 and April 2012. Of these, 252 patients underwent the antegrade approach, and 188 patients underwent the retrograde approach. All the patients enrolled in our study were suspected of having small bowel diseases with a negative etiological diagnosis following other routine examinations, such as upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy and radiography tests. Data on tumors, such as clinical information, endoscopic findings and operation results, were retrospectively collected.

RESULTS: Small bowel tumors were diagnosed in 78 patients, of whom 67 were diagnosed using DBE, resulting in a diagnostic yield of 16.8% (67/400); the other 11 patients had negative DBE findings and were diagnosed through surgery or capsule endoscopy. Adenocarcinoma (29.5%, 23/78), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (24.4%, 19/78) and lymphoma (15.4%, 12/78) were the most common tumors. Among the 78 tumors, 60.3% (47/78) were located in the jejunum, and the overall number of malignant tumors was 74.4% (58/78). DBE examinations were frequently performed in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (47.4%) and abdominal pain (24.4%). The positive detection rate for DBE in the 78 patients with small bowel tumors was 85.9% (67/78), which was higher than that of a computed tomography scan (72.9%, 51/70). Based on the operation results, the accuracy rates of DBE for locating small bowel neoplasms, such as adenocarcinoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor and lymphoma, were 94.4%, 100% and 100%, respectively. The positive biopsy rates for adenocarcinoma and lymphoma were 71.4% and 60%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: DBE is a useful diagnostic tool with high clinical practice value and should be considered the gold standard for the investigation of small bowel tumors.

Keywords: Double-balloon enteroscopy; Small bowel tumors; Diagnosis; Capsule endoscopy; Endoscopic findings

Core tip: This was a single-center study with a large sample size of patients who underwent 440 consecutive double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) examinations. The detection rates of various tumors, location of the lesions, histological analyses and reasons for DBE were evaluated. Differences in the rates of detecting small bowel tumors between abdominal computed tomography, capsule endoscopy and DBE were compared. Based on the operation results, we analyzed the accuracy of DBE for locating neoplasms in addition to its positive biopsy rate. DBE’s high clinical practice value indicated that it should be considered as the gold standard for small bowel tumors.