Endoscopic and radiographic evaluation of the small bowel in 2012.
Traditionally, the diagnosis of small bowel disorders has been challenging secondary to the small intestine's length, tortuosity, and anatomic location. Recent technologic advancements in the field of enteroscopy and radiographic imaging have facilitated a more thorough endoscopic evaluation of patients with small bowel disease ranging from obscure gastrointestinal bleeding to inflammatory bowel disease and small bowel tumors. Such developments have made it possible to avoid invasive surgical procedures in certain clinical scenarios where they were previously the gold standard. In this review, we report an update on the diagnostic and management approach to patients with small bowel disease, emphasizing the advantages and limitations of the latest modalities now available to primary care physicians and gastroenterologists for evaluating patients with presumed disease of the small intestine.
Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Penn State College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
Charles E
CE
Dye
Ryan R
RR
Gaffney
Thomas M
TM
Dykes
Matthew T
MT
Moyer
D000465:Algorithms; D053704:Capsule Endoscopy; D058582:Double-Balloon Enteroscopy; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D045823:Ileus / Q000175:diagnosis; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed