3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study compares wireless capsule endoscopy (patients swallow a pill-size camera that sends pictures of the intestine to a recorder worn on their belt) to an x-ray study (called dedicated small bowel contrast radiography) in patients who have bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract without a source of the bleeding identified on routine endoscopic examinations of the esophagus (food pipe), stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The investigators hope to determine if the capsule is a better test in terms of decreasing further bleeding, decreasing the need for further diagnostic testing, and decreasing the need for blood transfusions and time spent in the hospital.
Gastrointestinal bleeding originating from the small bowel is difficult to diagnose and treat because the small bowel is difficult to see and reach. Balloon assisted enteroscopy (BAE) is a new enteroscopy methods that allow examination of the small bowel and allows for diagnosis and treatment of bleeding originating from this part of the intestine. Unfortunately, BAE is unsuccessful in identifying the cause of bleeding in 40-50% of patients. This may be due to limited visualization of the small bowel lining during conventional endoscopy. One way to improve visualization of the small bowel lining is by adding a transparent plastic cap to the end of the endoscope (camera), which allows the endoscope to see around sharp turned and behind folds in the small bowel. The investigators goal in this randomized controlled study is to see if adding a transparent cap to the end of the endoscope will help to identify and treat small bowel bleeding. The investigators will invite patients referred for BAE to participate in the study; the alternative to participating in the study is having standard BAE (without a cap). If patients choose to participate in the study they will be randomized to BAE with or without a cap on the end of the endoscope. Subjects time commitment will be limited to the consent process and pre-procedure paperwork at time of initial endoscopy and time required to complete telephone questionnaire at 12 months follow up.
Up to 5% of patients with recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding remain undiagnosed by EGD and colonoscopy, the presumed source of bleeding in these patients being the small intestine. These patients fall under the category of "obscure gastrointestinal bleeding," and frequently require an extensive diagnostic work-up. For these reasons, most patients who present with obscure or occult gastrointestinal bleeding typically undergo multiple endoscopic evaluations, including capsule endoscopy and various radiologic imaging studies, including enteroclysis, small bowel series, CT scan, angiography, and radionuclide scan. Recently, many centers (included the Brigham and Women's Hospital) have begun using capsule endoscopy and CT enterography (CTE) for evaluation of suspected small bowel pathology. This is an observational study enrolling patients referred to the Brigham and Women's Hospital for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding designed to compare the diagnostic yield of various diagnostic modalities, in particular capsule endoscopy and CT enterography in the evaluation of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.