Wireless capsule endoscopy: indications, limitations, and future challenges.

Wireless capsule endoscopy is one of the recent inventions that has made an impact in the diagnostic work-up of gastrointestinal diseases, mainly in small intestinal pathology, the part of the gut that cannot be totally visualized by upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. Since the first report documenting the use of capsule endoscopy, many adult clinical trials have taken place. Although the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the capsule in children (ages 10-18 years) in October 2003, few small clinical trials exploring the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy in pediatric populations have been published.