Aim: this study aimed to comprehensively compare the diagnostic capabilities of modern video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and standard computed tomography (CT) in detecting small bowel tumors in patients presenting with gastrointestinal bleeding.

Materials and methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of diagnostic data from 128 patients exhibiting clinical manifestations of small bowel bleeding. The patients were divided into two clinically comparable groups based on their chosen diagnostic approach. Group I comprised 65 patients who underwent VCE, while Group II included 63 patients whose diagnosis was facilitated by contrast-enhanced CT. A crucial inclusion criterion for all patients in both groups was prior gastroscopy and colonoscopy that failed to identify the source of bleeding.

Results. The study’s findings demonstrated a substantial difference in the diagnostic efficacy of the methods. In the VCE group, tumors as a cause of bleeding were identified in 11 (16.9 %) patients, whereas in the CT group, an analogous diagnosis was established in only 6 (9.5 %) patients. A pivotal observation was that among Group II patients with negative CT results, subsequent application of VCE led to the detection of an additional 7 small bowel tumors, none exceeding 10 mm in size. This clearly indicates the superior diagnostic value of VCE for identifying small bowel neoplasms, particularly those of diminutive size, compared to CT.

Conclusions. This research substantiates that VCE exhibits significantly higher diagnostic effectiveness compared to CT for detecting small bowel tumors up to 10 mm. The detection rate was 16.9 % for VCE versus 9.5 % for CT (p < 0.05), thereby justifying its application for the early and precise diagnosis of this pathology.