Shorter waiting time and easier diagnosis with capsule endoscopy

– Says Havraz Mahma, a specialist doctor in the Department of Gastroenterology at Gavli Hospital, it helps us make a diagnosis and find out what treatment can be given to the patient.

Because the small intestine is very long, it cannot be examined with simple gastroscopy, in which the doctor passes a soft tube into the stomach through the mouth, or colonoscopy, in which the tube is inserted through the opening of the rectum. But with a camera in the form of a capsule that the patient swallows, it passes through the digestive tract and takes pictures that are then analyzed by doctors. Then the small intestine can also be seen with pictures and it becomes easier to make a diagnosis.

– We want to examine diseases of the small intestine. There is no other good way, other than a capsule, to check the small intestine, says Annika Steinmann, MD, a nurse in the gastroenterology clinic.

The capsule’s camera takes pictures as it passes through the digestive tract

The patient must be fasting for eight hours before the examination. On site they are instructed on how to do it and then they gawk at the reception camera.

– The capsule camera is like a large tablet. They’re slippery when water gets in them, so it’s easier to swallow than you think, says Annika Stenman.

Around the entire capsule are twelve cameras that take pictures continuously and have a battery life of about 15 hours. After the camera is swallowed by the patient, it takes between 4 and 48 hours for it to pass through the digestive tract. The patient takes home a strainer that is placed in the toilet and with the help of a magnetic stick the capsule can be picked up from the stool. The capsule is then returned to the reception desk.

– In the images we are looking for, among other things, bleeding, Crohn’s disease, polyps or tumors, says Havraz Mahma, who browses the images.

Shorter waiting time

Previously, patients would go to Hudiksvall for capsule endoscopy. Now that the examination has also taken place in Yavle, they have succeeded in shortening the waiting times to nearly one month.

– says Kajsa Granqvist, a nurse in the gastroenterology clinic. After we did everything on site here in Gävle, it became much faster.

The examination is mainly aimed at patients with bleeding and gastroscopy or colonoscopy does not show any source of bleeding. A capsule endoscopy is then performed to see if there is any interpretation in the small intestine that can be addressed.

Not for all patients

But not all patients are allowed to undergo capsule endoscopy. If there is a problem with narrowing of the small intestine, there is a risk of obstruction and then the examination is not performed. For a patient to undergo capsule endoscopy, a colonoscopy and gastroscopy must be performed first.

– With the capsule, we focus only on the small intestine. We don’t examine the esophagus, the stomach, the beginning of the duodenum, or the colon, says Havraz Mahma.