Real time visualization may be advisable to exclude aspiration in patients undergoing capsule endoscopy examination

Capsule endoscopy (CE) is currently considered as a first line diagnostic tool for small bowel examination. Some patients find swallowing the capsule difficult. However, capsule aspiration is relatively uncommon and is only reported in isolated cases. The majority of these cases are male (39/41; 95.1%) with an age ranging from 56-93 years and only 4 (9.8%) patients had a recorded history of dysphagia. Twenty-four out of 41 (58.5%) patients experienced symptoms of capsule aspiration. The aspiration self-resolved in 11/41 patients and the CE was retrieved during bronchoscopy in the other cases. We present the case of a 75 year old man with a history of chronic anemia who was referred for CE.