Meta-analysis of capsule endoscopy in patients diagnosed or suspected with esophageal varices.

The PillCam ESO (Given Imaging, Israel) or esophageal capsule endoscopy (ECE) is a novel technique used in the diagnostic evaluation of esophagus. Many studies have been performed to compare the accuracy of ECE against the current gold standard esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy and a meta-analysis recently published by Lu et al suggests that ECE may have an acceptable sensitivity and specificity in detecting esophageal varices. We would like to discuss the importance and implication of publication bias in this meta-analysis.