Fecal occult blood testing for the prediction of small-bowel pathology detected by capsule endoscopy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) has been suggested as a potential screening tool for small-bowel capsule endoscopy (CE). We conducted a meta-analysis of studies correlating FOBT and CE findings to examine the predictive value of positive FOBT for CE findings.

Methods: PubMed and Embase search. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) were calculated.

Results: Six studies were identified. Four used fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), one used FIT and guaiac FOBT, one used hemoglobin/haptoglobin complex testing (Hb/Hpt). Five of the 6 studies were suitable for statistical analysis. For all positive FOBT, sensitivity for small-bowel findings was 0.60 (95%CI 0.50-0.69), specificity was 0.72 (95%CI 0.52-0.86), and DOR was 3.96 (95%CI 1.50-10.4). For the 4 studies using only FIT, sensitivity was 0.48 (95%CI 0.36-0.61), specificity was 0.60 (95%CI 0.42-0.76), and DOR was 1.41 (95%CI 0.72-2.75).

Conclusions: Although a number of modalities have been suggested for screening small-bowel CE referrals, none of them, including FOBT, offer a comprehensive solution. Further work is required to refine screening methods for small-bowel CE referrals.