Comparison of esophageal capsule endoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy for diagnosis of esophageal varices

AIM: To investigate the utility of esophageal capsule endoscopy in the diagnosis and grading of esophageal varices. METHODS: Cirrhotic patients who were undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for variceal screening or surveillance underwent capsule endoscopy. Two separate blinded investigators read each capsule endoscopy for the following results: variceal grade, need for treatment with variceal banding or prophylaxis with beta-blocker therapy, degree of portal hypertensive gastropathy, and gastric varices. RESULTS: Fifty patients underwent both capsule and EGD. Forty-eight patients had both procedures on the same day, and 2 patients had capsule endoscopy within 72 h of EGD. The accuracy of capsule endoscopy to decide on the need for prophylaxis was 74%, with sensitivity of 63% and specificity of 82%. Inter-rater agreement was moderate (kappa = 0.56). Agreement between EGD and capsule endoscopy on grade of varices was 0.53 (moderate). Inter-rater reliability was good (kappa = 0.77). In diagnosis of portal hypertensive gastropathy, accuracy was 57%, with sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 17%. Two patients had gastric varices seen on EGD, one of which was seen on capsule endoscopy. There were no complications from capsule endoscopy. CONCLUSION: We conclude that capsule endoscopy has a limited role in deciding which patients would benefit from EGD with banding or beta-blocker therapy. More data is needed to assess accuracy for staging esophageal varices, PHG, and the detection of gastric varices. (C) 2008 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.