Diagnosis of small bowel radiation enteritis by capsule endoscopy

DWH Lee, AOS Poon, ACW Chan
Endoscopy Centre, St Teresa's Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong

We report a case of radiation-induced enteritis of the small bowel diagnosed by capsule endoscopy. A 67-year-old woman, who had received radiotherapy for a carcinoma of cervix 10 years ago, presented with passage of tarry stool and anaemia. The gastroscopy results were normal and the small bowel enema showed no abnormalities, but colonoscopy revealed altered blood clots in the right-sided colon and in the terminal ileum. M2A capsule endoscopy was subsequently performed that showed an ulcer and stricture at the distal ileum. The capsule, however, became lodged at this stricture site caused by the stenosis. A small bowel resection was performed to remove both the diseased section and the capsule, and the patient made an uneventful recovery.

Hong Kong Med J 2004;10:419-21

Key words: Capsules; Endoscopy, gastrointestinal