The clinical significance of the excavated lesions in the small bowel

In 2000, a fundamentally new method of endoscopy called video capsule endoscopy was introduced into clinical practice. It is a new method for the diagnosis of small bowel diseases. Due to capsule endoscopy, it is possible to assess the small bowel mucosa by differentiating intestinal villi and identifying the type of lesions. There is no data available in the literature, which shows the incidence of the excavated lesions in the small bowel farther than distal part of duodenum, in other words, farther than conventional endoscopical techniques possibilities allow. One of the frequent excavated lesion types in the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract are aphthae, erosions and ulcers. Clinical implication of the excavated lesions in the mentioned places is investigated and estimated very well. However, clinical implication of the excavated lesions in the small bowel is predominantly unknown. At this moment most data, which is related to such lesions in the small bowel, is connected with bleeding and anemia, developing of strictures and risk of perforation. These data were obtained predominantly with non-capsule diagnostic modalities

Autorentext

Aleksejs Derovs, MD, PhD, internist, gastroenterologist. Studied medicine in Riga Stradins University (Latvia). Author of many articles in the field of internal medicine and gastroenterology. Clinical interests: capsule endsocopy, inflammatory bowel disease, probiotics, functional gastrointestinal disorders.