Usefulness of EUS with double-balloon enteroscopy for diagnosis of small-bowel diseases.
BACKGROUND
Until recently, EUS of the small bowel has been performed only in limited regions because of difficulties in endoscopically approaching the small bowel. Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) now permits investigation of the entire small bowel.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the usefulness of EUS with DBE for diagnosis of small-bowel diseases.


METHODS
Pilot study.


METHODS
All patients were examined at Hiroshima University Hospital.


METHODS
EUS with DBE was performed in 20 consecutively analyzed patients (14 men, 6 women; mean age, 47.6 +/- 3.8 years). DBE was performed to investigate obscure GI bleeding (n = 12), small-bowel diseases suggested by other modalities (n = 7), recurring ileus (n = 1), or follow-up (n = 1).


METHODS
Endoscopic biopsies were performed as clinically indicated.


METHODS
EUS image quality for various types of small-bowel diseases and comparison with abdominal US.


RESULTS
Protruding lesions were detected in 7 examinations, ulcerative lesions in 7, and no abnormalities in 7. EUS could be performed in 20 of 21 examinations. These images were adequately detailed evaluations and with more detail than US images in 16 examinations.


CONCLUSIONS
Small nonblinded study.


CONCLUSIONS
EUS with DBE offers high-resolution cross-sections of small-bowel lesions and may contribute to the diagnosis of small-bowel diseases.
Fukumoto
Akira
A
Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan.
Manabe
Noriaki
N
Tanaka
Shinji
S
Yamaguchi
Toshiki
T
Matsumoto
Yoshiaki
Y
Chayama
Kazuaki
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D020776:Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000379:methods*; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity