Quick Answer
Capsule endoscopy is a painless test in which you swallow a vitamin-sized wireless camera that photographs your small intestine. It is the most reliable way to investigate obscure GI bleeding, small bowel Crohn's disease and tumours that are out of reach of conventional endoscopy. Dr. Anando Sengupta offers capsule endoscopy at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.
Why capsule endoscopy?
The small intestine is roughly 5–6 metres long and lies between the reach of UGI endoscopy (above) and colonoscopy (below). Capsule endoscopy is the only practical way to see the entire small bowel mucosa without surgery.
Indications
- Obscure GI bleeding — iron-deficiency anaemia or melaena with normal UGI endoscopy and colonoscopy
- Suspected small bowel Crohn's disease
- Small bowel polyps & tumours (Peutz-Jeghers, familial polyposis)
- Suspected coeliac complications (refractory coeliac, lymphoma)
- NSAID-induced small bowel ulcers / enteropathy
How it works
- You swallow the capsule with a sip of water
- A recorder worn on a belt collects the images by radiofrequency
- The capsule traverses the GI tract by normal peristalsis (8 hours on average)
- You can move around, work and resume normal activities
- 4 hours after swallowing, you may eat a light meal
- The recorder is returned to the hospital after 8–10 hours
- The doctor reviews the video (~50,000 images) over 1–2 hours
- The capsule is excreted naturally in 24–72 hours
Risks
The main risk is capsule retention in a small bowel stricture — less than 1 in 100, screened for in suspected cases with an imaging study or a dissolvable patency capsule beforehand. Capsule endoscopy is not suitable for patients with severe swallowing problems, suspected obstruction, or implanted devices that interfere with the recorder (rare).
