Introduction:

The capsule endoscopy (CE) currently represents the diagnostic standard in a wide variety of small bowel pathologies. However, up to 2% of patients who undergo CE develop retention as complication of the study, even though in particular cases the risk increases up to 8%. That’s why, the assessment of the small intestine functional patency in patients with risk factors for retention it´s obliged, being the patency capsule the modality of choice for this porpoise.

Objetive:

Describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients undergo patency capsule assessment.

Materials and methods:

Retrospective, observational and descriptive analysis of patency capsule in the Department of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán, in the period between January 2017 to February 2019. Descriptive statistic was used.

Results:

During the study period, six patency capsule studies were performed. The mean age was 66 years (SD ± 19), all the patients were female. The six patients presented two risk factors for capsule retention; all the patients had history of abdominal surgery, three history of radiotherapy and three history of intestinal occlusion/sub-occlusion. Four patients presented natural excretion of the patency capsule, the transit time of the capsule was <30 h in one and >30 h three. Two patients developed retention of the patency as a complication, un case course asymptomatic, and one developed intestinal occlusion which resolved spontaneously. In three patients who excreted the patency capsule, capsule endoscopy was performed uneventfully. In the two patients who presented retention, we performed enteroscopy. All the patients were diagnosed with certainty. One patient died before capsule endoscopy was administered.

Conclusion:

This is the first study description of the usefulness of patency capsule in Mexican population, we wanted to show the security and efectivity of the patency capsule in the assessment of the funtional patency of the small bowel, having precautions about the indications and contraindications.

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