PillCam Colon capsule endoscopy does not always complement incomplete colonoscopy.
BACKGROUND
There are no data on the role of PillCam Colon capsule (PCC) endoscopy for examination of the colon in incomplete colonoscopy cases.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether PCC endoscopy can complete colon examination after failure of conventional colonoscopy to visualize the cecum.


METHODS
Three tertiary centers.


METHODS
Retrospective case series.


METHODS
Patients who underwent PCC endoscopy after incomplete colonoscopy from January to June 2008.


METHODS
Conventional colonoscopy and PCC endoscopy.


RESULTS
By using PCC, we studied 12 patients who had incomplete colonoscopy. Six patients had an obstructing tumor of the left side of the colon, and, in 6 cases, there were technical difficulties to complete colonoscopy. PCC endoscopy visualized the rectum in 1 case. The capsule did not reach the site where colonoscopy stopped in 6 of the 12 cases, ie, 3 left sited tumors and 3 with technical difficulties. Moreover, in 1 of the 3 cases in which the capsule passed the site where colonoscopy stopped, poor bowel preparation precluded the accurate examination of the colon. Four patients underwent a third colon examination (3 barium enemas and 1 virtual CT colonoscopy). There were no adverse events related to PCC endoscopy.


CONCLUSIONS
A retrospective study and a selected patient population. Data may not be applicable to other settings.


CONCLUSIONS
In this retrospective case series of patients with incomplete colonoscopy, PCC endoscopy did not always satisfactorily examine the colon.
Triantafyllou
Konstantinos
K
Hepatogastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine--Propaedeutic, Medical School, Athens University, "Attikon" University General Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology, Athens University, "Laikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Tsibouris
Panagiotis
P
Kalantzis
Chryssostomos
C
Papaxoinis
Kostis
K
Kalli
Theodora
T
Kalantzis
Nikolaos
N
Ladas
Spiros D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D053704:Capsule Endoscopy; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies