Diagnostic yield and therapeutic impact of single-balloon enteroscopy: Series of 106 cases

Background and Aim:  Single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) is a novel method of balloon assisted enteroscopy which allows deep intubation of intestine and has therapeutic potential. This prospective study was done in a tertiary care center to evaluate the feasibility, complications, diagnostic and therapeutic yield of SBE in patients with suspected small bowel disorders.
Methods:  One hundred and six patients (mean age 40.1 years, range 12–76 years, 65 men) with suspected small bowel diseases underwent 131 SBE procedures between February 2007 and July 2008.
Results:  Indications for SBE included obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) (40), chronic abdominal pain with abnormal imaging studies (34), chronic diarrhea (20), polyposis syndromes (11) and foreign body (1).The mean insertion depth was 255.8 ± 84.5 cm beyond the duodenojejunal flexure by the oral route and 163 ± 59.3 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve by the per anal approach. The mean duration of the procedure for antegrade and retrograde enteroscopy was 65.9 ± 19.5 min and 72.3 ± 18.3 min, respectively. Pan-enteroscopy was possible in 25% of cases (five of 20 cases in which total enteroscopy was attempted). Diagnostic yields in cases of OGIB, chronic abdominal pain and chronic diarrhea were 60%, 65% and 55%, respectively. Overall new diagnosis was established in 46% and the extent of known disease was assessed in 15% of cases. In 21% of patients, therapeutic interventions were carried out while surgical treatment was directed to 8.4% of the patients. No major complications were observed.
Conclusion:  SBE is well tolerated and has good diagnostic yield, having a similar yield to previous double-balloon enteroscopy reports.