| 抄録 |
INTRODUCTION: Examining a whole small bowel with a balloon enteroscope is not easy. Identifying the precise location of the lesion, and accomplishing examination of a small bowel with strictures are also difficult. In order to overcome these problems, we have developed virtual enteroscopy (VE), using a program for virtual colonoscopy. We report an assessment of its clinical performance. METHODS: Ninety examinations with VE were performed in 87 patients. The volume of injected air and intra-intestinal pressure were monitored, and the length of the depicted small bowel was recorded in 33 cases. Efforts were made to confirm depicted abnormal findings by other imaging techniques, intra-operative findings, and histopathological findings. RESULTS: The clinical indications for VE were inflammatory bowel disease (n=36), small bowel obstruction (n=32), small bowel tumor (n=15), obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (n=4), Meckel's diverticulum (n=1), as well as other indications (n=2). The injected air volume and maximal intra-intestinal pressure were 2,016±728ml and 2.69±0.81kPa, respectively. The length of the depicted small bowel was 480.6±85.5cm and a whole small bowel image was achieved in 84.6% of 26 cases. Seven out of 33 cases were excluded from the analysis due to previous resection of the small bowel. VE depicted strictures in various diseases, malignant tumor, polyp, submucosal tumor of the small bowel, and Meckel's diverticulum. CONCLUSION: VE has the potential to enable exploration of the whole small bowel, and thereby provide information on small bowel lesions that complements other techniques. |
