Spiral enteroscopy: a preliminary experience in Asian population.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In spite of recent developments in the field of enteroscopy the small bowel remains the challenging organ to access. The spiral enteroscopy is a novel technique using a special over-tube (Endo-Ease Discovery SB) system for deep intubation of the small bowel. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of spiral enteroscopy with an Olympus enteroscope (SIF Q 180) in an Asian subset of patients.

METHODS: Between January and March 2010, 11 patients underwent spiral enteroscopies. The indication for the procedure was obscure gastrointestinal bleeding in five patients, Crohn's disease in two, malabsorbtion syndrome in two, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome in one and Osler Weber Rendu disease in one patient.

RESULTS: Eleven patients (five male and six female) mean age 41.6 years (range 21-62 years) underwent spiral enteroscopy. Spiral enteroscopy advancement was successful in all patients. The average depth of insertion was 249 cm (range 120-400 cm) past the ligament of Treitz, and the average time for the procedure was 27.8 min (range 20-32 min). The findings included ulcers (n = 3), polyps (n = 1), arteriovenous malformation (n = 2), ulcer with stricture (n = 1), and lymphangiectasia (n = 1). No major complications were observed.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our initial experience with spiral enteroscopy shows that it is easy to perform, takes less time than balloon assisted enteroscopy and is relatively safe.