Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of double balloon endoscopy (DBE) for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) METHODS: The data of 103 OGIB patients who underwent DBE from January 2007 to September 2010 in the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: DBE was successfully performed in all 103 patients without complications. Of 103 patients, 66(64.1 %) had positive DBE findings and 28 had surgery procedures(27.2 %). Ninety-four patients finally acquired positive diagnosis, including small intestine tumor(31.1 %), angiodysplasia(22.3 %), exulceratio simplex(9.7 %), Crohn's disease(6.8 %), diverticulum(4.9 %), abdominal purpure(4.9 %), etc. Lesions occurred more frequently in proximal small intestine than in distal small intestine (56.3 % Compared with 30.1 %, P<0.001).
Conclusion: DBE is a safe, effective and reliable procedure for the diagnosis of OGIB.