Capsule Endoscopy for Severe Hematochezia

Patients with severe hematochezia (bright red blood per rectum) may have a bleeding source proximal to the colon. Visualization of the entire gastrointestinal tract using a second-generation colon capsule endoscopy system could improve diagnostic yields and form the basis for a new approach to early diagnosis that could change guidelines and practice management in these patients. The hypothesis of this study is that urgent colon capsule endoscopy will have higher rates of lesion localization and diagnosis and reduced time to diagnosis than the standard tagged red blood cell scanning and/or angiography. In this study, the eligible patients with severe hematochezia are enrolled to undergo an evaluation with the capsule endoscopy in addition to the standard tests including a tagged RBC scan and/or an angiogram. The outcomes in terms of diagnostic yields of the capsule endoscopy will be compared to the standard tests.