Gastrointestinal Transit Times in Health as Determined Using Ingestible Capsule Systems: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Ingestible capsule (IC) systems can assess gastrointestinal (GI) transit times as a surrogate for gut motility for extended periods of time within a minimally invasive, radiation-free and ambulatory setting. Methods: A literature review of IC systems and a systematic review of studies utilizing IC systems to measure GI transit times in healthy volunteers was performed. Screening for eligible studies, data extraction and bias assessments was performed by two reviewers. A narrative synthesis of the results was performed. Results: The literature review identified 23 different IC systems. The systematic review found 6892 records, of which 22 studies were eligible. GI transit time data were available from a total of 1885 healthy volunteers. Overall, seventeen included studies reported gastric emptying time (GET) and small intestinal transit time (SITT). Colonic transit time (CTT) was reported in nine studies and whole gut transit time (WGTT) was reported in eleven studies. GI transit times in the included studies ranged between 0.4 and 15.3 h for GET, 3.3–7 h for SITT, 15.9–28.9 h for CTT and 23.0–37.4 h for WGTT. GI transit times, notably GET, were influenced by the study protocol. Conclusions: This review provides an up-to-date overview of IC systems and reference ranges for GI transit times. It also highlights the need to standardise protocols to differentiate between normal and pathological function.