Colon capsule endoscopy in elderly Korean patients with multiple comorbidities : a single-center pilot study

Background: In Korea, colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) is approximately six times more expensive than conventional colonoscopy.Therefore, it is difficult to use CCE as a screening test.However, for older patients with a higher risk of complications from colonoscopy, this study was conducted to evaluate whether CCE could be utilized in Korea despite its significant cost difference.Materials and Methods: We performed CCE using PillCam COLON 2 on a total of 14 patients during the period from August 2, 2024 to April 5, 2025.Polyethylene glycol was used for both bowel preparation and as a booster.We analyzed patient characteristics, gastric transit time, small bowel transit time, colon transit time, and total study time based on its completion status.Results: The mean age of the patients was 78.1 years.All patients were either aged 75 years or older or had multiple comorbidities.The completion rate of CCE was 43% (6 out of 14).There was a significant difference in the mean colon transit time (3.32 hours vs. 5.90 hours, P=0.001) between the group that completed the examination and the group that did not.Among the eight patients who did not complete the examination, six had an average battery time of only 8.07 hours. Conclusion:The CCE completion rate in this study suggests that CCE is not yet sufficient to replace colonoscopy as a screening tool in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities.Improving feasibility may require a safe, effective booster regimen and better battery performance.Further studies are warranted.