A validation study of 3 grading systems to evaluate small-bowel cleansing for wireless capsule endoscopy: a quantitative index, a qualitative evaluation, and an overall adequacy assessment

Abstract

Background: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a powerful tool for evaluating the small bowel. Assessment of small-bowel cleansing for CE is an essential quality measure.

Objective: Our purpose was to validate 3 new scales that grade small-bowel cleansing for CE.

Design: Prospective, randomized, single-center study.

Setting: Tertiary university hospital.

Intervention: Five experienced capsule endoscopists read 40 CEs twice, separated by 1 month, to grade small-bowel cleansing on 3 scales-quantitative index (QI; 0-10), qualitative evaluation (QE; poor, fair, good, excellent), and overall adequacy assessment (OAA; inadequate, adequate). The QI and QE evaluated both the entire and distal small bowel. Investigators received no prior training in these scales.

Main outcome measurements: Intraclass correlation coefficients to assess intraobserver (test-retest) and interobserver reliability.

Patients: Forty patients who underwent 1 CE between June 2005 and May 2006 and who satisfied entry criteria.

Results: Intraobserver reliability was moderate to substantial for the QI (0.60-0.66), moderate for the OAA (0.56), and fair to moderate for the QE (0.37-0.47). Interobserver scores were lower: QI and OAA moderate (0.47-0.52, 0.41, respectively) and slight to fair for the QE (0.20-0.24). QI scores for the entire and distal small bowel were highly correlated for each reader (0.57-0.87), and distal small-bowel scores were lower by 1.3 points, indicating poorer cleansing (P = .001). A dichotomized QE of excellent/good versus fair/poor had moderate to substantial intraobserver and interobserver reliability (0.58-0.66, 0.41-0.49, respectively). There was a strong and highly significant association among all 3 scales (P < .001 between QI and both QE and OAA).

Conclusion: We have described and validated 3 scales for grading small-bowel cleansing for CE. An evaluation of small-bowel cleansing should be routinely incorporated into the CE report.