Capsule Endoscopy

A capsule endoscopy allows your child’s doctor to see inside parts of the small intestine that cannot be examined with a regular endoscope during an upper endoscopy or colonoscopy.

A video capsule the size of a large vitamin or pill is swallowed. The camera takes tens of thousands of photos of the small intestine as it travels through the digestive tract. This takes about eight to 12 hours. The pictures are transmitted to a data recorder that your child wears around his or her waist. The capsule passes out of the body through the stool after one to three days.

The images captured by the capsule are downloaded to a computer and reviewed by your child’s doctor.

Capsule endoscopy is used by doctors at Riley at IU Health to find out the cause of symptoms such as blood in the stool and diarrhea. The test is helpful in making a diagnosis and monitoring a number of conditions, including Crohn's disease and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Capsule endoscopy is a painless procedure that can even be used with young children depending on their age and size. If the capsule is too big for a small child to swallow, the doctor may place it inside the body with an endoscope.

What to Expect

The day before your child’s capsule endoscopy procedure:

The doctor may prescribe a diet of light meals or clear liquids.
Your child may need to use a laxative.
You may need to stop giving your child certain medicines.

You can expect the following during a capsule endoscopy procedure:

Your child will be asked to remove his or her shirt.
Stickers will be placed on your child’s abdomen.
A sensor belt will be positioned around his or her waist.
Your child will swallow a capsule the size of a large vitamin or pill with a glass of water.
He or she will not feel anything.
Your child can go home once the capsule is swallowed.

Returning Home

Once you and your child return home, you should follow these guidelines:

Your child can return to normal activities.
Your child can follow a normal diet a few hours after the capsule is ingested.
Vigorous activities should be avoided.
You and your child will return to see the doctor after eight hours to have the sensor belt removed.
The doctor will review the images that were captured during the test.
The capsule will exit the body in the stool after one to three days.
You should check your child’s stool to see when the capsule passes out of the body.
If you do not see the capsule in the stool after several days, call the doctor.
On rare occasions the capsule gets stuck in the intestines and must be removed by endoscopy or surgery.

Key Points to Remember

Capsule endoscopy is a painless test that takes pictures inside parts of the small intestine that cannot be seen using other endoscopy methods.
Your child swallows a large vitamin-sized pill that contains the camera.
A sensor belt worn on the waist captures images sent by the camera.
The entire test takes between eight and 12 hours.
The camera capsule passes out of the body through the stool in one to three days.

Locations

In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.