A COMPARISON OF ENDOSCOPIC AND CAPSULE SMALL-INTESTINAL BIOPSY TECHNIQUES IN CHILDREN WITH UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS

Objective: To compare the adequacy for histological diagnosis and morp hometric analysis of small intestinal biopsies obtained by either endo scopic forceps or a capsule technique. Methodology: Small intestinal b iopsies from 176 children were reviewed, 92 obtained by endoscopy and 84 by capsule. Results: The adequacy for making a histological diagnos is was 96 and 81% for endoscopic and capsule biopsies, respectively, a nd for morphometric analysis it was 86 and 71%. There were more tissue specimens from children who had endoscopic compared with capsule biop sies (2.3 vs 1.8 specimens per patient). Conclusions: Endoscopic biops ies provide better specimens for histological diagnosis and endoscopy has the advantage of allowing macroscopic assessment of the upper gast rointestinal tract which can be of value in recognizing unexpected pat hology and in identifying patchy mucosal changes.