The role of enteroscopy in clinical practice.

Enteroscopy does not yet carry the conviction that physicians are used to with gastroscopy and colonoscopy. The examination is never complete. The distance of small bowel examined in any individual examination is unknown. Although some therapeutic maneuvers are possible, the further the endoscope is into the small bowel the more difficult it becomes to pass and control the instruments. There is more room for improvement in enteroscopy than in almost any other area of gastrointestinal endoscopy. Nonetheless, there have been real gains for patients with difficult gastrointestinal bleeding and small bowel pathology with advances in diagnostic and therapeutic ability with enteroscopes achieved by a combination of relatively minor technologic changes and some clinical enthusiasm.