Endoscopy-assisted capsule endoscopy in patients with swallowing disorders.

Capsule endoscopy (CE) has greatly facilitated the diagnosis of small-bowel lesions in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding [1]. It was recently reported by Hollerbach et al. [2] that endoscopically assisted video capsule endoscopy facilitates the investigation of the small bowel in patients with functional gastric outlet obstruction. Swallowing difficulties, which are not uncommon in elderly patients, may also make it difficult to carry out CE [3]. To avoid this, we have successfully tested a modified approach to CE in these patients.