A rapid and accurate method to detect active small bowel gastrointestinal bleeding on video capsule endoscopy.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is indicated to evaluate for suspected small bowel bleeding, but "standard view" (SV) evaluation is time-consuming. Rapid Reader 6.0 software (Given Imaging, Duluth GA) contains two computer algorithmic systems (1) "Quickview" (QV) which automatically skips similar images and (2) a pixel analysis program that identifies suspected blood (SBI). Combining the two modalities (QV + SBI) may provide a faster modality to assess for active small bowel bleeding. AIMS: This study was designed to assess the accuracy of QV + SBI for small bowel bleeding compared to SV findings. METHODS: This is a retrospective, case-control study at a single tertiary care referral hospital including all patients with VCE performed for suspected small bowel bleeding from 4/2007 to 3/2011. All studies were previously read using SV by one of two experienced faculty (CS, DR). The primary outcome was diagnostic accuracy of QV + SBI in assessing for active small bowel bleeding compared to SV. RESULTS: A total of 116 VCE were included, 28 with active small bowel bleeding identified by original SV. Using QV + SBI, all 28 VCEs with active small bowel bleeding were identified. The sensitivity of QV + SBI to detect active bleeding was 100%, while the specificity was 93-94%. The mean time to identify landmarks and read the entire study was 3 min 20 s. CONCLUSIONS: The QV + SBI reading format of VCE is an efficient, highly sensitive modality to assess for potential small bowel bleeding.