Capsule endoscopy has been shown to be useful for the diagnosis and management of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and Crohn's disease when compared with many other methods. However, these findings are based on data from small studies. In an effort to better determine the true diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy in these clinical conditions, the authors performed meta-analyses of available prospective studies that compared capsule endoscopy with other diagnostic methods in patients who were being evaluated for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding or Crohn's disease.