Comparison of the Positive Rate and Diagnostic Value of Capsule Endoscopy and Double-Balloon Enteroscopy in Small Bowel Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Capsule endoscopy (CE) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) have provided great help in the diagnosis and treatment of small bowel diseases (SBD). The aim of this study was to explore the positive rate and diagnostic value of CE and DBE for patients who were suspected of having SBD, and to make a comparison between the two methods.

A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the cases at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. We divided the patients into CE and DBE group, and recorded the basic characteristics of the patients, checking the results of CE and DBE, positive rate, sensitivity and specificity for statistical analysis.

A total of 244 patients were included in our research, including 122 in the CE group and 122 in the DBE group. The positive rate of CE for intestinal diseases was 84.4%, higher than that of DBE (78.7%), but DBE (75.2% and 92.3%) had higher sensitivity and specificity than CE (70.5% and 88.2%), though the differences were not statistically significant. The three most common positive findings in patients were inflammation, erosion, or ulcers (28.7%), vascular malformations (14.3%), and eminence lesions (9.0%). CE had a higher rate detection of inflammation, erosion, or ulcers than DBE (36.1% vs 21.3%), but they both had high positive rates for vascular malformations (13.9% and 14.8%). In addition, both methods had higher positive rates in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding compared to other symptoms.

CE and DBE are both important methods for intestinal examination. Patients can choose appropriate tests according to their condition.