Is Occult Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding a Definite Indication for Capsule Endoscopy? A Retrospective Analysis of Diagnostic Yield in Patients with Occult versus Overt Bleeding

Table 4

Diagnosis (final) and treatment modalities, per bleeding type.

Final diagnosis	Diagnostic modality	Treatment modality
Occult OGIB (𝑛=33)
Vascular lesion (11)	DBE (7), CE (4)	Endoscopic hemostasis (6),; follow up (no treatment) (5)
Ulcer or erosive lesion (18)	CE (8), DBE (6), CE+ response to medical treatment (3), and biopsy by DBE (1)	Medication (6), withdrawal of NAIDs (1),; and follow up (no treatment) (11)
Tumor (4)	Surgery (3), biopsy by DBE (1)	Surgery (3), medication (1)^†
Overt OGIB (𝑛=106)
Vascular lesion (31)	DBE (29), CE (2)	Endoscopic hemostasis (26), IVR (1), and; follow up (no treatment) (4)
Ulcer or erosive lesion (51)	DBE (33), CE (15), biopsy by DBE (2),; CE+ response to medical treatment (1)	Medication (18)^†, withdrawal of NSAIDs (9), surgery (2), endoscopic hemostasis (1),; and follow up (no treatment) (21)
Tumor (20)	Surgery (12), resection by DBE (4),; CE (3), and biopsy by DBE (1)	Surgery (12), endoscopic resection (4),; medication (1)^†, and follow up (no treatment) (3)
Other (4)	DBE (3), CE (1)	Endoscopic hemostasis (1),; follow up (no treatment) (3)

Number of patients is shown.
^†Anti-tubercular drugs, 5-ASA, steroid, medication for gastritis, or chemotherapy.
CE: capsule endoscopy; DBE: double balloon endoscopy; OGIB: obscure gastrointestinal bleeding; IVR: interventional radiology; NSAIDs: non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs.