Capsule Colonoscopy Can Evaluate Ulcerative Colitis in Children

Douglas K. Rex, MD

In a small pilot study, diagnostic accuracy was high and no serious adverse events occurred.

In a prospective pilot study, investigators assessed the diagnostic accuracy of second-generation colon capsule endoscopy in evaluating disease activity (normal vs. active inflammation) in pediatric patients with ulcerative colitis. Colonoscopy was used as the gold-standard reference.

Thirty consecutive pediatric patients (mean age, 14.1 years) with ulcerative colitis underwent capsule study followed by colonoscopy in the late afternoon or on the following day.

One patient could not swallow a capsule. Among the other 29 patients, the sensitivity of the second-generation capsule for disease activity was 96.5%, specificity was 100%, the positive-predictive value was 100%, and the negative-predictive value was 85%. No serious adverse events occurred, and interobserver agreement was excellent (κ >0.86).

Citation(s):

Oliva S et al. Second-generation colon capsule endoscopy vs. colonoscopy in pediatric ulcerative colitis: A pilot study. Endoscopy 2014 Jun; 46:485.