Safety and Efficacy of Small Bowel Examination by Capsule Endoscopy for Patients before Liver Transplantation

Background and Aims. Gastrointestinal surveillance is a requirement prior to liver transplantation (LT), but small intestine examination is not generally undertaken. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of capsule endoscopy (CE) for patients with end-stage liver disease. Methods. 31 patients who needed LT were enrolled, and 139 patients who underwent CE over the same period of time acted as controls. Results. Frequency of successful achievement of evaluation of the full length of the small bowel, the mean gastric transit time, and the mean small bowel transit time were not significantly different between the two groups. Abnormalities in the small bowel were found in 26 patients. Comparative analysis revealed that history of EV rupture, history of EV treatment, red color sign of EV, and presence of PHG or HCC were significantly associated with patients with >2 two such findings (high score group). Conclusions. Small bowel examination by CE in patients before liver transplantation could be performed safely and is justified by the high rate of abnormal lesions detected particularly in patients with history of EV therapy or bleeding, red color sign, and presence of PHG or HCC. This study was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN 000008672).