Published online Jan 16, 2015. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v7.i1.13
Peer-review started: August 29, 2014
First decision: September 30, 2014
Revised: October 16, 2014
Accepted: December 3, 2014
Article in press: December 10, 2014
Published online: January 16, 2015
Processing time: 139 Days and 10.3 Hours
The development of capsule endoscopy (CE) in 2001 has given gastroenterologists the opportunity to investigate the small bowel in a non-invasive way. CE is most commonly performed for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, but other indications include diagnosis or follow-up of Crohn’s disease, suspicion of a small bowel tumor, diagnosis and surveillance of hereditary polyposis syndromes, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced small bowel lesions and celiac disease. Almost fifteen years have passed since the release of the small bowel capsule. The purpose of this review is to offer the reader a brief but complete overview on small bowel CE anno 2014, including the technical and procedural aspects, the possible complications and the most important indications. We will end with some future perspectives of CE.
Core tip: This review covers all the relevant aspects of small bowel capsule endoscopy anno 2014. The current techniques, procedures, analyses, indications and future perspectives are discussed thoroughly. Easy-to-use flowcharts are provided to help the readers in their decision-making when confronted with small bowel pathology.