Impact of fluoroscopy on oral double-balloon enteroscopy: results of a randomized trial in 156 patients

Background and study aims The routine utility of fluoroscopy during double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) via the oral route has been not prospectively evaluated. Up to now, there have been no prospective randomized trials to assess whether fluoroscopy improves outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the value of fluoroscopy during oral DBE. Patients and methods A total of 156 patients (88 men, 56.4 %) of mean (standard deviation [SD]) age 56 (19) years were randomly assigned to undergo oral DBE either with or without fluoroscopy. The majority of the patients had obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 96, 62 %). The primary target criteria for the study were postpyloric insertion depth and…