Introduction:

Potential small bowel bleeding is defined as one in which a source of bleeding has not been found (occult or evident), after evaluation with upper endoscopy and colonoscopy. This entity is rare, representing about 5-10% of the cases of gastrointestinal bleeding. Currently, the endoscopic capsule is established as the first choice for the study of midgut; unfortunately, in our environment we don´t have the necessary equipment to perform it, with double balloon enteroscopy available for the evaluation of the small intestine.

Objective:

To calculate the rate of small bowel findings and therapeutic interventions during double balloon enteroscopy in patients with potential small bowel bleeding at the Regional Hospital ISSSTE Lic. Adolfo López Mateos.

Methods:

We performed a descriptive retrospective study of patients referred for double balloon enteroscopy at the gastrointestinal endoscopy service of HRLALM, with diagnosis of potential small bowel bleeding that met inclusion criteria, in the period from January 2016 to December 2018, collecting the variables: age, sex, lesions found in the upper digestive tract, small intestine and middle digestive tract, and type of therapeutic intervention.

Results:

A total of 37 enteroscopies were analized, 12 in women, 25 in men, with a median age of 64 years. Sixteen patients had findings in small bowel (43%), of which 5 (13.5%) had both small bowel and large bowel findings. The most common small bowel findings were: angiectasias (n=2), nonspecific ileitis (n=2), ileal ulcers (n=2), jejunum tumor (n=2). Ten percent of the procedures required therapeutic intervention (25% of patients with findings in the small bowel), the most frequent being hemoclip + epinephrine placement.

Conclusion:

The results of the present study show a rate of small bowel lesions diagnosed and therapeutic intervention lower than previously reported in literature for double-balloon enteroscopy. Studies with a larger number of patients, and analysis of the cost per intervention must be carried out in order to reach conclusions regarding its use in places where endoscopic capsule is not available.

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