Study identifies double-balloon enteroscopy as cost-effective approach for obscure G...( OAK BROOK Ill. November 24 2008 A ...),Health

OAK BROOK, Ill. November 24, 2008 A cost-effectiveness analysis conducted by researchers at Stanford University Hospital in Calif., shows that an initial double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is a cost-effective approach for patients with obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. However, capsule-directed DBE (which is when the findings from an initial small bowel capsule endoscopy exam are used to guide the DBE procedure) may be preferred as the initial test due to the potential for fewer complications and decreased utilization of endoscopic resources. The study appears in the November issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

Endoscopy is a procedure that uses an endoscope -- a thin, flexible tube with a light and a lens on the end to look into the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, colon, or rectum, in order to diagnose or treat a condition. There are many types of endoscopy, including colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, gastroscopy, enteroscopy, and esophogogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Capsule endoscopy (CE) uses a pill- sized video capsule, which has its own lens and light source that the patient swallows for examination of the small intestine (or small bowel). The balloon assisted enteroscopy technique is a new method that advances the scope through the small intestine by inflating and deflating one or more balloons, and pleats the small bowel over a tube like a curtain rod. This technique allows for diagnosis and treatment of small intestinal disorders. Balloon assisted enteroscopy can be performed with one or two balloons. When two balloons are used, the technique is referred to as double-balloon enteroscopy.

"Approximately five percent of patients who present with GI bleeding will have a small bowel source. The expense to manage these patients is considerable," said study lead author Lauren B. Gerson, MD, MSc, FASGE, Stanford
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