Can Steerable Capsule Endoscopy Enhance Gastric Emptying?

Small bowel wireless capsule endoscopy is the investigation modality of choice for suspected diseases of the small bowel. The procedure is safe and noninvasive, the main risk being capsule retention occurring in approximately 2% of procedures. Other problems such as incomplete examinations occur in 10-20% of procedures. Reasons include delayed gastric emptying, slow small bowel transit, faulty equipment and poor bowel preparation.

Some protocols identify the capsule position 30 minutes after ingestion using a 'realtime' viewer. If the capsule remains in the stomach, mobilisation is encouraged followed by an intramuscular prokinetic injection if this fails. This approach has disadvantages since an intramuscular injection is uncomfortable for patients. Additionally metoclopramide, commonly used for this purpose, has a risk of acute dystonic reactions particularly in young patients.

Recently a handheld magnet (Intromedic Ltd.) has been developed to enable control of the capsule in the upper GI tract. We propose that this could be used, alongside positional changes, to expedite capsule transit through the stomach thus improving completion rates and avoiding the risks of unnecessary medication. We wish to undertake a randomised controlled study comparing a standard protocol for small bowel capsule endoscopy against a hand held magnet and positional change protocol to enhance gastric emptying of the wireless capsule.