Given Imaging's PillCam SB wireless capsule endoscopy effective in treating GI patients

Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN), the global leader in patient-friendly GI diagnostic and monitoring solutions, today announced that three new studies demonstrate that PillCam® SB endoscopy has a clear impact on how physicians manage GI patients, including those patients suspected of having Crohn's disease. The studies were presented at the Gastro 2009 conference taking place in London from November 21 to 25. Given Imaging is exhibiting at booth #83 at the conference.

A 950-patient, single-center study (P2106) analyzing the largest series of capsule endoscopy cases from the UK, led by Dr. Mark E. McAlindon, Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK, examined capsule endoscopy's diagnostic yield and impact on patient management. Results of the study showed that using PillCam SB changed how physicians treated 27 percent of all patients and 79 percent of patients who were subsequently diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

In a poster presentation (P2105), Jorge Cotter, Alto Avenue Hospital Center, in Guimarães, Portugal, concluded that physicians can diagnose and classify Crohn's disease earlier by using PillCam SB. The study also found that based upon capsule endoscopy findings, physicians changed their therapeutic strategy for 22 percent of their patients.

Finally, data from a poster (P1471) presented by Paul Thomas, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset, UK, showed that by using PillCam SB, physicians at community hospitals were able to definitively determine the source of GI bleeding in 58 percent of patients who presented with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) and subsequently treated more than one-third of those examined. These results mirror results seen in large, tertiary referral centers. Thomas and colleagues concluded that a normal capsule endoscopy indicates a good prognostic course.

"There is a growing body of evidence that suggests broader use of wireless capsule endoscopy in routine practice," said Dr. Thomas. "Earlier diagnosis and management at the point-of-care may improve patient outcomes."