[Effectiveness of endoscopic capsule for the detection of small-bowel bleeding of unknown origin and for the diagnosis of Crohn's disease].

The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the endoscopic capsule for the diagnosis of bleeding of the small bowel and of Crohn's disease. A systematic review was performed. Studies with more than 10 patients, using the capsule and some other procedure for diagnostic purposes, and published in peer reviewed journals, were included. In order to evaluate the papers, a quality scale was created. The diagnostic yield of the capsule for small-bowel bleeding was approximately 55-75%. With other procedures, the diagnostic yield was around 30%. For Crohn's disease, the diagnostic yield of the capsule was between 43-70% while it was 0-50% with other procedures. The reviewed studies have methodological limitations, yet they seem to point to the fact that the capsule may have a better diagnostic yield than other diagnostic procedures for small-bowel bleeding and Crohn's disease.