title: Symptomatic retention of the patency capsule: a multicenter real life case series.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The patency capsule is designed to evaluate the patency of the small bowel before administration of small-bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) in patients at high risk of retention. The utilization of a patency capsule may be associated with a risk of symptomatic retention, but very few cases have been reported to date. The aim of our study was to describe our experience with this rare complication of a patency capsule.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a multicenter retrospective case series. The medical records of patients who underwent a patency capsule test were scanned and all cases of symptomatic retention were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 20 symptomatic cases of retention out of 1615 (1.2 %) patency capsule tests were identified; in one patient, the patency capsule was retained in the esophagus, in the rest, the capsule was detected in the small bowel resulting in abdominal pain or small-bowel obstruction. One patient (5 %) required surgery; all other patients resolved spontaneously or after corticosteroid therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Symptomatic patency capsule retention is a very rare complication with a favorable prognosis. It should be recognized but its use in patients with suspected small-bowel stenosis should not be discouraged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Uri
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kopylov
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nemeth
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology - NHC, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cebrian
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wurm Johansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thorlacius
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology - NHC, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Urien Sainz
authors.affiliation: Endoscopy Unit, Centre for Liver and Digestive Disorders, The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Anastasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koulaouzidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eliakim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ervin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toth