Prucalopride Prior to Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy

Plain-language summary

Small bowel capsule endoscopy is a test used to investigate for any abnormalities in the small bowel. The small bowel is about 4 meters long. The battery time of the capsule is about 8 hours. During this time the capsule takes pictures as it passes through the small bowel. In about 15-20% of capsule tests the battery expires before the capsule passes through the entire small bowel into the colon. Incomplete tests indicate that a variable portion of small bowel was not visualized. Incomplete tests are associated with potential missing of abnormalities in the portion of small bowel that was not reached. The capsule test may often required to be repeated but the problem of incomplete examination may persist. At present no medication has been approved to increase the rate of complete capsule tests. Prucalopride is a medication that has been approved in Canada and Europe for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation. Animal and human studies suggested that prucalopride may enhance the movement of the stomach and the small bowel. A recent presentation at a medical meeting suggested that prucalopride may accelerate the passage of the capsule camera through the small bowel without increasing the chance to miss a lesion in the small bowel. The purpose of this study is to asses if the administration of a single dose of prucalopride is going to decrease the time required by the capsule to move through the small bowel.

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