Clinical Impact of PillCam Crohn's Capsule Endoscopy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Management

Aims PillCam Crohn's Capsule (PCC) enables comprehensive examination of the entire gastrointestinal tract, offering high diagnostic yield for small bowel and colonic inflammation in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. Despite its potential, limited research has focused on the clinical implications of PCC in routine clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the clinical impact of PCC in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients.

Methods PCC procedures conducted as part of IBD investigations were retrospectively selected and patient clinical records were analyzed.

Results A total of 72 PCC systematic procedures were included, of these patients 62.5% were females with a mean age of 42±15 years. The clinical indication for the procedure was suspected CD in 52 (72.2%) patients, 18 (25%) for CD reevaluation, and 2 (2.8%) for Ulcerative Colitis assessment. We observed a rate of 77.8% complete examinations. PCC procedures directly influenced management decisions in 34 (47.2%) of patients. Specifically, in suspected CD cases, PCC altered the management in 27 patients (51.9%), favoring CD diagnosis in 7 (25.9%), and revealing other conditions in 20 (74.1%). In those patients submitted to PCC for CD staging, the procedure prompted management changes in 38.9% of patients (n=7). Among these, six patients underwent therapeutic step-up, while one patient's diagnosis was revised to irritable bowel syndrome. [1]

Conclusions Our study demonstrates the substantial clinical impact of non-invasive PillCam Crohn's capsule endoscopy in the management of IBD patients. PCC not only aids in the accurate diagnosis, staging and therapeutic management of CD but also plays a crucial role in identifying alternative conditions.

Conflicts of interest

Authors do not have any conflict of interest to disclose.

• References

• 1 Toskas A, Laskaratos FM, Coda S, Banerjee S, Epstein O.. Is Panenteric PillcamTM Crohn’s Capsule Endoscopy Ready for Widespread Use? A Narrative Review. Diagnostics 2023; 13 (12) 2032

Publication History

Article published online:
15 April 2024