Apostolopoulos P, Kalantzis C, Gralnek IM et al.
NIMTS Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2008;28:405–11.
Editor’s note: Capsule endoscopy (CE) has become a popular method for investigating the small bowel, for example in occult gastrointestinal bleeding. The battery powering the capsule lasts for approximately 8 h, but in up to one-fifth of patients it expires before the capsule has reached the terminal ileum, thus potentially leaving some of the small bowel unexplored (
Gastroenterology 2004;126:643–53). The use of prokinetic drugs such as erythromycin and metoclopramide has therefore been suggested to shorten gut transit time. The authors of the present report evaluated whether chewing gum – which acts as a vagal stimulant – accelerates transit of the capsule through the small bowel, thus allowing total visualization before the battery dies.