Utility of capsule endoscopy in children and youth – own experience

In the paper we present our experience with capsule endoscopy procedures in pediatric patients. Capsule endoscopy procedures (End^oCapsule EC type 1, Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) was performed in five children, including three girls and two boys aged from 12 to 18 years. The indications included the obscure overt gastrointestinal bleeding (1 patient) and suspicion of small bowel Crohn’s disease (4 patients). Capsule endoscopy identified small bowel pathologies consistent with Crohn’s disease among 3 out of 4 patients suspected of Crohn’s disease. Small-bowel Crohn’s disease was ruled out in 1 patient. No source of bleeding was identified in a patient suffering from obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Among 4 out of 5 patients capsule endoscopy was complete. In one patient with Crohn’s disease the capsule was retained proximally to the small bowel stricture. The patient had obstructive symptoms that required surgical intervention with capsule evacuation and a partial small bowel resection.