Current Progress of Endoscopy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Capsule Endoscopy

More than a decade has passed since small-bowel capsule endoscopy (CE) was developed. One of the indication for small-bowel CE is suspected/diagnosed Crohn’s disease (CD). Patients who are suspected CD with negative ileocolonoscopy are good candidate for small-bowel CE. In patients with suspected CD, the risk of small-bowel capsule retention is comparable to that when the smallbowel CE is applied for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. On the other hand, in patients with an established diagnosis of CD, the risk of small-bowel capsule retention is increased, particularly in those with known intestinal stenosis. In the presence of obstructive symptoms or known stenosis, small-bowel cross-sectional imaging or patency capsule, which is a self-dissolving dummy capsule, should generally precede small-bowel CE. Colon CE (CCE) was first reported in 2006. CCE may be appropriate for inflammatory bowel disease; however, the efficacy of CCE on IBD has not been still unconfirmed. A possible application for CCE for IBD is ulcerative colitis.