Prolonged Intestinal Transit Time and Its Relation with Capsule Endoscopy Diagnostic Yield.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Capsule endoscopy is a gold standard diagnostic method for small bowel lesions. There is scarce evidence regarding vari- ables that may increase the odds of identifying small bowel lesions with this endoscopic method. The aim of this work is to describe variables associated with a higher probability of finding small bowel lesions on capsule endoscopy. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was performed using our Department's adult patients' capsule endoscopy database. The presence of any small bowel mucosal lesion was registered. Other variables were examined age, gender, reason for referral, quality of bowel cleans- ing, and intestinal transit time. These variables were compared between those patients showing at least 1 lesion versus those without lesions. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to determine variables significantly associated with the presence of bowel lesions. RESULTS: In total, 140 studies were analyzed; 90% were performed due to occult gastrointestinal bleeding. Median age was 69 years (60-75); 54.29% were males. Bowel cleansing was adequate in 94.29%; 68.57% showed at least 1 lesion. Non-significant difference was observed in terms of age between groups of comparison (70 [61-76] vs 63 [59-74], P = .07). No difference was found comparing bowel cleansing, gender, or reason for referral. Intestinal transit time was significantly longer among those patients with a bowel lesion (359 minutes [257-427] vs 279 minutes [200-333], P = .05). On multivariate analysis, age and intestinal time were significantly associ- ated with the presence of at least one small bowel lesion (odds ratio 1.02 [1-1.06] and 1.09 [1.03-1.12], respectively). CONCLUSION: Age and intestinal transit time were significantly associated with the presence of abnormal findings on capsule endoscopy.