A large-scale data review by researchers in China showed double balloon enteroscopy to be safe and effective for detection of diseases of the small intestine, according to an American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy news release (pdf).
A study in GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy found that the endoscopic procedure had a pooled detection rate of 68.1 percent for all small intestinal diseases. Suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding was found to be the most common indication and these patients often had inflammatory and vascular lesions.
The balloon assisted enteroscopy technique advances the endoscope through the small bowel by alternately inflating and deflating balloons, and pleating the small bowel over an insertion tube like a curtain over a rod.
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