2Surgery & Digestive Endoscopy Unit, V. Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy
3Gastroenterology & Digestive Endoscopy Unit, C.Cantù Hospital, AO Legnano, Abbiategrasso, Italy
4Digestive Endoscopy Unit, Santa Barbara Hospital, Iglesias, Italy
5Gastroenterology Unit, Valduce Hospital, Como, Italy
6Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milano, Italy Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
This study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety and diagnostic yield of the OMOM CE in several clinical settings investigating possible small bowel disease conditions.
Indications to perform the exam were: obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, known or suspected Crohn’s disease, suspected small bowel tumor and familial adenomatous polyposis. The distribution of patients for each diagnostic subgroup is reported in table 1. All the included subjects had previously performed other investigations, such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy, small bowel follow through, enteroclysis, abdominal computed tomography or magnetic resonance.
Indications Of Patients For Capsule Endoscopy |
Number |
Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding |
55 |
Known or suspected Crohn’s disease |
57 |
Familial adenomatous polyposis |
3 |
Suspected small bowel tumor |
3 |
Total patients |
118 |
In the recorder jacket, there are 14 receiver elements placed close to the abdomen and waist. The images acquired are transmitted from the capsule to the recorder via a digital radio frequency communication channel. Moreover, it is included a portable real-time monitor device that allows the endoscopist not only to follow the progression of the capsule, but also to send possible commands to the OMOM system to modify the rate of frame (2, 1 or 0.5 fps), the flash intensity and the capsule state (sleep or awake). The recorder is later connected to the workstation, in order to download and process the images.
Indication |
Nr |
Positive |
Suspicious |
Negative |
Obscure GI bleeding |
55 |
33 (60%) |
9 (16%) |
13 (24%) |
Suspected or known Crohn’s disease |
57 |
20 (35%) |
3 (5%) |
34 (60%) |
FAP |
3 |
1 (33%) |
0 (0%) |
2 (67%) |
Suspected small bowel tumor |
3 |
2 (67%) |
0 (0%) |
1 (33%) |
Total |
118 |
56 (48%) |
12 (10%) |
50 (42%) |
Complete visualization of the small bowel was achieved in 114 patients (97%). Capsule retention without obstruction occurred in only 1 patient (0.8%) due to a previously undiagnosed Crohn’s disease stricture at the terminal ileum, in a patient with diarrhoea and without any obstructive symptom. This patient underwent surgical treatment of the stricture and capsule recovery. In 4 patients the capsule did not reach the cecum within the time of recording. In 3 of them the capsule failed to reach the cecum because of the impact with a lesion (a jejunal stricture due to a previously unknown Crohn’s disease in one patient, an ileal mass in another one and a duodenal substenosis in the last case); in the fourth patient, an actual cause could not be found, as the only pathological finding was angiodysplasia. Anyway, they all spontaneously expelled the capsule in 10 days, except for the patient with the jejunal stricture, whom experienced symptomless retention and had to undergo surgical treatment, allowing also for capsule retrieval.
The overall diagnostic yield, when considering only positive findings, was 48%. If suspicious findings were included as well, the diagnostic yield increased up to 58 %. The diagnostic yield observed in the different subgroups is shown in table 2. Diagnostic yield in patients with OGIB was 76 % (when counting both positive and suspicious findings), which is greater if compared to that of the non-OGIB subgroup. This finding further confirms that OGIB is the most important indication for capsule endoscopy. When patients were divided according to the type of bleeding (overt vs. occult), the diagnostic yield of OGIB was similar (p = 0, 7) to that of non-OGIB as reported in table 3.
Indication |
Nr |
Positive |
Suspicious |
Negative |
OGIB Occult |
34 |
20 (59%) |
6 (18%) |
8 (23%) |
OGIB Overt |
21 |
14 (67%) |
1 (5%) |
6 (28%) |
Angioectasia |
Overall |
OGIB |
Non OGIB |
MAV |
15 |
15 |
0 |
Ulcer |
20 |
14 |
6 |
Erosion |
6 |
2 |
5 |
Polyp |
4 |
3 |
1 |
Active bleeding |
6 |
6 |
0 |
Stricture |
3 |
1 |
1 |
Villousatrophy |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Tumor |
2 |
0 |
1 |
In our hands, the system proved to be easy to use and safe. Indeed, retention without obstruction occurred in only 1 patient and it was due to a previously undiagnosed Crohn’s disease stricture at the level of the terminal ileum. Retention was symptomless and the patient underwent surgical treatment of the stricture and capsule recovery. Some of the features of the OMOM system have revealed to be extremely useful in making the procedure more adjustable and tailored to the many potential clinical settings. In particular, the possibility of modulating the flash intensity and the ON/OFF status of the capsule are unique of this system. While the first one might be convenient in conditions of low visibility (in the stomach or if there are residues or blood in the lumen); the second one may be helpful in saving battery life when a distal lesion has to be reached. Another important feature is the possibility of monitoring the pyloric transit in order to decide whether or not to use a prokinetic to fasten up the process and achieve exam completion; indeed, it is known that delayed gastric time is one of the most frequent causes of failure to reach the cecum [9, 10].
In our series, OMOM capsule endoscopy reached the cecum in most of patients (97%). Our result is much higher than the figures so far reported in literature for all the other capsule systems [11-13]. Even though the use of prokinetics may explain this result [10, 14] this does not seem to be the case in our study. In fact, when are considered patients from the centers neither utilizing prokinetics injection nor real-time viewer, the proportion of capsule reaching the cecum was even higher (37/38 patients, 97%). Therefore, the role of these factors can be easily ruled out. The OMOM CE is slightly bigger and heavier than the other capsules and this may favor a relatively faster progression along the small bowel. Moreover, our patient series was characterized by a relatively large proportion of patients with clinical conditions, such as diarrhea and overt OGIB, possibly associated with accelerated peristalsis and a short small bowel transit time. As a matter of fact, the small bowel transit time observed in the present study is quite short but substantially similar to that reported in the literature.
This might be explained considering that transit speed can be affected by multiple variables, such as the completion rate, the definition of the small bowel transit time used (many Authors include also patients in whom the capsule never reached the cecum), the age of patients, the comorbidities and drugs assumption that may affect bowel peristalsis (like diabetes or neuropathies, and opiods or prokinetics, respectively), the in-patient or out-patient settings, etc. Another possible explanation for this result could be the relatively longer lifespan of OMOM capsule endoscopy battery that allows for prolonged recording. In any cases, a more complete visualization of the small bowel could be crucial to obtain an even higher diagnostic yield than that achieved by currently available devices.
In our series, the diagnostic yield was assessed considering only positive findings (see table 2); the results were similar to those reported in literature, with an overall detection rate of 48%. In particular, it was 60% in OGIB and 35% in known or suspected Crohn’s disease. In agreement with previously described studies, the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy varies depending on the indication for which it is performed, being about 50% for OGIB in a recent series [11,15-16] while, for suspected Crohn’s disease, widely ranges between 33-70% [16- 18]. The results of the present study are quite encouraging, as they show diagnostic figures at least equal to those reported in the literature, despite the fact that a statistical comparison is not feasible due to the relatively small number of patients evaluated in our study.
Furthermore, its significantly lower cost, with respect to all other systems available in Europe, should encourage its diffusion because of the superior cost/effectiveness ratio.
- Iddan G, Meron G, Glukhovsky A, Swain P. Wireless capsule endoscopy. Nature. 2000;405-417.
- Mishkin DS, Chuttani R, Croffie J, Disario J, Liu J, Shah R, et al. ASGE Technology Status Evaluation Report: wireless capsule endoscopy. Gastrointest Endosc. 2006;63(4):539-545. DOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2006.01.014
- Pennazio M, Eisen G, Goldfarb N. ICCE consensus for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopy. 2005;37(10):1046-1050. DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-870319
- Mergener K, Ponchon T, Gralnek I, Pennazio M, Gay G, Selby W, et al. Literature review and recommendations for clinical application of small-bowel capsule endoscopy, based on a panel discussion by international experts. Consensus statements for small-bowel capsule endoscopy, 2006/2007. Endoscopy. 2007;39(10):895-909. DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-966930
- Ladas SD, Triantafyllou K, Spada C, Riccioni ME, Rey JF, Niv Y, et al. ESGE Clinical Guidelines Committee. European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE): recommendations (2009) on clinical use of video capsule endoscopy to investigate small-bowel, esophageal and colonic diseases. Endoscopy. 2010;42(3):220-227. DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1243968
- Liao Z, Gao R, Li F, Xu C, Zhou Y, Wang JS, et al. Fields of applications, diagnostic yields and findings of OMOM capsule endoscopy in 2400 Chinese patients. World J gastroenterol. 2010;16(21):2669-2676.
- Li C, Zhang B, Chen C, Li YM. OMOM capsule endoscopy in diagnosis of small bowel disease. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2008;9(11):857-862. Doi: 10.1631/jzus.B0820034
- Pennazio M, Santucci R, RondonottiE, Abbiati C, Beccari G, Rossini FP, et al. Outcome of patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding after capsule endoscopy: report of 100 consecutive cases. Gastroenterology. 2004;126(3):643-653.
- Ogata H, Kumai K, Imaeda H, Aiura K, Hisamatsu T, Okamoto S, et al. Clinical impact of a newly developed capsule endoscope: usefulness of a real-time image viewer for gastric transit abnormality. J Gastroenterol. 2008;43(3):186-192. Doi: 10.1007/s00535-007-2140-y
- Postgate A, Tekkis P, Patterson N, Fitzpatrick A, Bassett P, Fraser C. Are bowel purgatives and prokinetics useful for small-bowel capsule endoscopy? A prospective randomized controlled study. Gastrointest Endosc. 2009;69(6):1120-1128. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2008.06.044
- Liao Z, Gao R, Xu C, Li ZS. Indications and detection, completion, and retention rates of small-bowel capsule endoscopy: a systematic review. Gastrointest Endosc. 2010;71(2):280-286. Doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2009.09.031
- Selby W. Complete small-bowel transit in patients undergoing capsule endoscopy: determinating factors and improvement with metoclopramide. Gastrointest Endosc. 2005;61(1):80-85.
- Rondonotti E, Herrerias J, Pennazio M, Caunedo A, Mascarenhas-Saraiva M, de Franchis R. Complications, limitations, and failures of capsule endoscopy: a review of 733 cases. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. 2005;62(5):712-716.
- Westerhof J, Weersma RK, Koornstra JJ. Risk factors for incomplete small-bowel capsule endoscopy. GastrointestinalEndoscopy. 2009;69(1):74-80. Doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2008.04.034
- Estévez E, Gonzalez-Conde B, Vazquez-Iglesias JL, de Los Angeles Vázquez-Millán M, Pértega S, Alonso PA, et al. Diagnostic detection rate and clinical outcomes after capsule endoscopy in 100 consecutive patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2006;18(8):881-888.
- Rondonotti E, Villa F, Mulder CJ, Jacobs MA, de Franchis R. Small bowel capsule endoscopy in 2007: indications, risk and limitations. World J Gastroenterol. 2007;13(46):6140-6149.
- Marmo R, Rotondano G, Piscopo R, Bianco MA, Siani A, Catalano O, et al. Capsule endoscopy versus enteroclysis in the detection of small bowel involvement in Crohn’s disease: a prospective trial. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005;3(8):772-776.
- Triester SL, Leighton JA, Leontiadis GI, Gurudu SR, Fleischer DE, Hara AK, et al. A meta-analysis of the yield of capsule endoscopy compared to other diagnostic modalities in patients with non-stricturing small bowel Crohn’s disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101(5):954-964.