What are the limitations of capsule endoscopy?
While the capsule provides the best means of viewing the inside of the small intestine, there are many inherent limitations and problems with its use, the most important of which is that the capsule does not allow for therapy. Other problems include: • Abnormalities in some areas of the intestine are missed because of rapid transit of the capsule and blurred, uninterpretable photographs. • At times, transit is so slow that the capsule examines only part of the small intestine before the battery fails. • If abnormalities are discovered that require surgical resection or further investigation, it may be difficult to determine exact location in the small intestine the abnormality is and thereby help direct therapy. However this can be estimated. • If there are strictures in the small bowel the capsule can get stuck that would need surgery. On other hand this will provide a diagnosis that would need surgery anyway. • May be time consuming, but physicians are getting more experienced. • Ben
