Magnetically Guided Capsule Endoscopy in Pediatric Patients with Abdominal Pain

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Magnetically guided capsule endoscopy (MGCE) offers a noninvasive method of evaluating both the gastric cavity and small intestine; however, few studies have evaluated MGCE in pediatric patients. We investigated the diagnostic efficacy of MGCE in pediatric patients with abdominal pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 48 patients with abdominal pain aged 6–18 years. All patients underwent MGCE to evaluate the gastric cavity and small intestine. RESULTS: The cleanliness of the gastric cardia, fundus, body, angle, antrum, and pylorus was assessed satisfactorily in 100%, 85.4%, 89.6%, 100%, 97.9%, and 100% of patients, respectively. The subjective percentage visualization of the gastric cardia, fundus, body, angle, antrum, and pylorus was 84.8%, 83.8%, 88.5%, 87.7%, 95.2%, and 99.6%, respectively. Eighteen (37.5%) patients had 19 gastrointestinal tract lesions: one esophageal, three in the gastric cavity, and 15 in the small intestine. No adverse events occurred during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: MGCE is safe, convenient, and tolerable for evaluating the gastric cavity and small intestine in pediatric patients. MGCE can effectively diagnose pediatric patients with abdominal pain.