Diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy in ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease of unclassified type (IBDU).
OBJECTIVE
Capsule endoscopy is increasingly reported as an important diagnostic procedure in patients with known or suspected Crohn's disease, but its clinical utility in patients with ulcerative colitis or unclassified type inflammatory bowel disease (IBDU) is unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy for small-bowel disease in patients with ulcerative colitis and IBDU.


METHODS
All data from patients with a history of ulcerative colitis or IBDU who underwent capsule endoscopy between October 2001 and August 2005 were analyzed for procedure indications and findings. Images were reviewed by an experienced capsule endoscopist. The finding of multiple ulcerations (three or more) on capsule endoscopy was classified as diagnostic of small-bowel Crohn's disease.


RESULTS
120 patients had undergone 122 capsule endoscopy procedures. Overall, 19 of 120 patients (15.8 %) had capsule endoscopy findings consistent with the diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The proportion of patients with small-bowel disease was significantly higher among patients with a history of colectomy (7 of 21 patients, 33 %) compared with those without colectomy (12/99, 12 %) ( P = 0.04). Among patients with positive findings on capsule endoscopy, 18 had also previously undergone a small-bowel follow-through study and only one showed findings consistent with Crohn's disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Many patients with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and atypical features or IBDU may have small-bowel findings on capsule endoscopy that are consistent with Crohn's disease. Capsule endoscopy should be considered in ulcerative colitis patients with atypical clinical features particularly after colectomy.
Division of Gastroenterology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
S
S
Mehdizadeh
G
G
Chen
P J
PJ
Enayati
D W
DW
Cheng
N J
NJ
Han
O A
OA
Shaye
A
A
Ippoliti
E A
EA
Vasiliauskas
S K
SK
Lo
K A
KA
Papadakis
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D053704:Capsule Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric