The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in general and according to patients’ age. Furthermore, preliminary results on the use of the new EN840T enteroscope model were assessed

We conducted a retrospective study of prospectively collected data on patients who underwent DBE in our endoscopy unit between January 2006 and August 2025

A total of 592 DBE procedures were included. The overall diagnostic yield was 60%; vascular lesions were the predominant endoscopic findings (24.8%), followed by polyps or neoplastic masses (17.4%). Older patients (≥65 years) showed higher rates of clinically relevant findings compared to adult patients (<65 years) (p = 0.01). Crohn’s disease and polyps or neoplastic masses were more frequent in the younger group (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively), while vascular lesions were the most common findings in the older group (p < 0.001). The rate of endoscopic treatment rates was higher in the older group (p < 0.001). Complications occurred in eight procedures (1.4%). Sixteen DBE procedures were performed using the EN840T enteroscope. No complications were observed. In transoral procedures, the length of small bowel visualized was greater than with previous models (234 cm vs. 217 cm from the pylorus). The diagnostic yield was 81.2%, compared to 55% (p = 0.03) with older enteroscopes.

DBE is an effective tool with a high safety profile, particularly in the elderly population. The new EN840T enteroscope, although evaluated in a limited number of procedures, appears to provide improved diagnostic performance with an excellent safety profile