부산대학교 도서관

Background and Purpose: The new method of double-balloon enteroscopy allowed a potentially full-length examination of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract for patients with various diseases of the small intestine. Previous clinical experience was limited to one group in Japan. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of this endoscopic system for disorders of the small intestine. Methods: From April 2004 to April 2005, 10 patients received a total of 11 enteroscopies in our institution. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for indications, endoscopic findings, outcomes and complications associated with the procedure. Results: Three patients were evaluated for acute small intestinal bleeding, five for chronic obscure bleeding and two for radiologically suspected segmental small bowel disorders. The source of the bleeding was identified in seven (87.5%) of eight patients with GI bleeding. One patient, evaluated for segmental small intestinal wall thickening, was diagnosed as having eosinophilic enteritis via endoscopic biopsy, while another had negative endoscopic finding. No serious complications occurred among the 10 patients. Conclusions: From our initial experience, double-balloon enteroscopy is safe and useful, and provides high diagnostic yields among patients with small intestinal bleeding. Enteroscopy with the double-balloon method seems to have a promising future and more studies are necessary to establish its role in diagnosis and therapy of small intestinal disorders.