Clinical utility of double-balloon enteroscopy for small intestinal bleeding.

Until the development of wireless capsule endoscopy (CE) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), it was extremely difficult to examine the entire small intestine. To assess the usefulness of DBE for diagnosing suspected small intestinal bleeding, we retrospectively compared the diagnoses and treatments of cases before and after its introduction at one hospital. Between September 2003 and December 2005, 21 consecutive patients with suspected small intestinal bleeding underwent DBE at Tokai University Hospital (group A), and subsequently 2 were excluded from the study after being diagnosed with bleeding from a diverticulum and an angiodysplasia in the ascending colon, respectively. For comparison, inpatients who were negative for gastrointestinal bleeding on colonoscopy and gastroscopy between May 1998 and August 2003 were reviewed and 27 consecutive patients who had not undergone DBE were selected as the control group (group B). All patients had been diagnosed negative for a source of bleeding on more than one colonoscopy and gastroscopy. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender, history of blood transfusion, blood hemoglobin value on admission, or symptoms. The diagnostic yield of DBE in identifying the source of bleeding was 78.9%: six cases of small intestinal ulcers, five cases of angiodysplasia, two cases of hard submucosal tumor (SMT), one case of small pulsating SMT, and one case of small intestinal cancer. DBE was also used to successfully treat three cases of angiodysplasia with argon plasma coagulation. In the control group, conventional investigations, including enteroclysis, angiography, Meckel scan, scintigraphy with technetium-labeled red blood cells, and/or push enteroscopy, were performed in 88.9%, 29.6%, 29.6%, 55.6%, and 25.9%, respectively. The overall diagnostic yield of the conventional approaches was only 11.1% (P < 0.01), comprising a Meckel's diverticulum, a polyp, and an angiodysplasia. We conclude that DBE can be used to diagnose suspected small intestinal bleeding and to treat some cases, such as angiodysplasia.

[A case of tuberculous lymphadenitis found as an abdominal mass penetrating the duodenum].

A 42-year-old woman who complained of epigastralgia was referred to our hospital because of an abdominal mass found by ultrasonography. CT and MRI scans revealed that the abdominal mass, 4 cm in diameter, located on the left side of the right kidney. Gastroduodenoscopy detected a deep ulcerative lesion covered with a yellowish coat in the second portion of duodenum. A sonolucent area at the bottom of the ulcerative lesion seemed to expand to the abdominal mass on ultrasonic endoscopy. Tuberculosis was one possible differential diagnosis. Pathological examination including Ziehl-Neelsen staining using biopsy specimens taken from the bottom of the ulcerative lesion did not show tuberculosis infection. However, polymerase chain reaction analysis using the biopsy specimens revealed that gene expression of tuberculosis was positive. We determined that tuberculous lymphadenitis penetrated the duodenum forming an ulcerative lesion in the duodenum. The administration of anti-tubercular medicine for 6 months male the abdominal mass disappeared and the duodenal ulcerative lesion formed an ulcer scar. We report here a case of tuberculous lymphadenitis penetrating the duodenum which was successfully treated by conservative therapy without surgical treatment.