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O’Grady et al. Mini-invasive Surg 2022;6:34 Mini-invasive Surgery
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1225.2022.22

Original Article Open Access

Routine plain film of abdomen in asymptomatic

patients with video capsule retention in small bowel-
time to change practice?

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John O’Grady , Siofra Bennett , Aidan Kaar, Lorraine Nolan, Julie O’Neill, Lucy Quinlivan, Martin Buckley
Department of Gastroenterology and GI Function Lab, Mercy University Hospital, Cork T12 WE28, Ireland.
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Joint first authors.
Correspondence to: Dr. John O’Grady, Department of Gastroenterology and GI Function Lab, Mercy University Hospital,
Grenville Place, Cork T12 WE28, Ireland. E-mail: jog403164@muh.ie
How to cite this article: O’Grady J, Bennett S, Kaar A, Nolan L, O’Neill J, Quinlivan L, Buckley M. Routine plain film of abdomen in
asymptomatic patients with video capsule retention in small bowel-time to change practice? Mini-invasive Surg 2022;6:34.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1225.2022.22

Received:10 Mar 2022 First Decision: 6 Apr 2022 Revised: 6 Apr 2022 Accepted: 18 Apr 2022 Published: 1 Jun 2022

Academic Editors: Giulio Belli, Jean-François Rey Copy Editor: Tiantian Shi Production Editor: Tiantian Shi

Abstract
Aim: Small bowel capsule retention is rare, with a rate of approximately 2%, defined as visible retention on plain
film of abdomen (PFA) after 14 days. Currently, PFA is performed if the capsule is not seen to reach the large bowel
during recording. Alternatively, for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) capsule studies, the risk of retention is determined
if the capsule fails to reach the small bowel during recording. Given the similar physical specifications of the
capsules (Medtronic) used, we considered whether 14-day PFA is no longer required for small bowel capsules not
observed in the large bowel.

Methods: The use of patency capsules in our lab allows careful selection of small bowel capsule studies to
minimize the risk of retention. All PFAs performed over a five-year period were reviewed to determine if careful
selection and use of patency negate the need for capsule retention PFA screening.

Results: In total, 688 small-bowel capsules were performed during the study period, and 3.6% had prior patency
capsules. Thirty-one PFAs with a query of capsule retention were performed during the study period on 28
patients. This included 15 females, and the median age was 53.5 years. None of the films demonstrated capsule
retention.

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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