Efficacy of Early Video Capsule Endoscopy for Acute Overt Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding with Colonic Diverticulosis: A Prospective Observational Study

Digestion. 2022;103(5):367-377. doi: 10.1159/000525314. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

Abstract

Background/aims: Although most patients with presumptive colonic diverticular bleeding (CDB) do not undergo a small bowel investigation in clinical practice, no prospective study supports this management. We evaluated the utility of early small bowel capsule endoscopy (CE) after negative colonoscopy results.

Methods: This prospective study evaluated the diagnostic yield of early small bowel CE (≤3 days from visit) for consecutive patients with acute-onset hematochezia, when colonoscopy found colonic diverticulosis but did not identify the definite bleeding source (n = 51; presumptive CDB). As a matched control for comparing clinical outcomes, presumptive CDB patients without CE (n = 51) were retrospectively extracted.

Results: On CE for the prospective cohort, the rates of total positive findings, P2 findings (high bleeding potential according to the P classification), and blood pooling in the colon were 57%, 12% (ulceration, 8%; angioectasia, 4%), and 24%, respectively. The rates of rebleeding within 30 and 365 days were 16% and 29% in the prospective cohort with CE, respectively, and were not significantly different from those in the retrospective cohort without CE (10% and 25%, respectively). In addition, thromboembolism and mortality within 30 and 365 days were not significantly different between those with and without CE.

Conclusion: Early CE detected a suspected small bowel bleeding source in 12% of acute-onset presumptive CDB patients but did not significantly improve major clinical outcomes. Therefore, routine CE is unnecessary for presumptive CDB patients after colonoscopy (UMIN000026676).

Keywords: Capsule endoscopy; Diagnostic yield; Lower gastrointestinal bleeding; Presumptive colonic diverticular bleeding.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Capsule Endoscopy* / methods
  • Diverticulosis, Colonic* / complications
  • Diverticulosis, Colonic* / diagnosis
  • Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / diagnosis
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / etiology
  • Humans
  • Intestine, Small / diagnostic imaging
  • Retrospective Studies