Limitations of Virtual Colonoscopy
Authors: Inku Hwang, Roy K.H. Wong
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2005)

Letters18 January 2005Limitations of Virtual ColonoscopyInku Hwang, MD and Roy K.H. Wong, MDInku Hwang, MDFrom Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307. and Roy K.H. Wong, MDFrom Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-142-2-200501180-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Pickhardt and colleagues (1) reported that the miss rate for optical colonoscopy (OC) using virtual colonoscopy (VC) was 12% for polyps 10 mm or greater. This and another paper (2), where these data originated, shed a very favorable light on VC. As co-investigators in the original study and as gastroenterologists, we would like to point out as-yet-unadvertised aspects of these data to provide a more balanced view of VC.Sensitivity and specificity of VC were high in the original study, but VC had a high false-positive rate of 51.1% (95% CI, 40.4% to 61.7%) (47 of 92) ...References1. Pickhardt PJ, Nugent PA, Mysliwiec PA, Choi JR, Schindler WR. Location of adenomas missed by optical colonoscopy. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:352-9. [PMID: 15353426] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Pickhardt PJ, Choi JR, Hwang I, Butler JA, Puckett ML, Hildebrandt HA, et al. Computed tomographic virtual colonoscopy to screen for colorectal neoplasia in asymptomatic adults. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:2191-200. [PMID: 14657426] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Van Gelder RE, Nio CY, Florie J, Bartelsman JF, Snel P, De Jager SW, et al. Computed tomographic colonography compared with colonoscopy in patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology. 2004;127:41-8. [PMID: 15236170] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Cotton PB, Durkalski VL, Pineau BC, Palesch YY, Mauldin PD, Hoffman B, et al. Computed tomographic colonography (virtual colonoscopy): a multicenter comparison with standard colonoscopy for detection of colorectal neoplasia. JAMA. 2004;291:1713-9. [PMID: 15082698] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Inku Hwang, MD; Roy K.H. Wong, MDAffiliations: From Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoLocation of Adenomas Missed by Optical Colonoscopy Perry J. Pickhardt , Pamela A. Nugent , Pauline A. Mysliwiec , J. Richard Choi , and William R. Schindler Limitations of Virtual Colonoscopy Perry J. Pickhardt Metrics Cited byCT colonography for postoperative surveillance after curative gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancerHow to Avoid Pitfalls in Imaging: Causes and Solutions to Overcome False-Negatives and False-PositivesVirtual colonoscopy in stenosing colorectal cancerScreening CT Colonography in an Asymptomatic Average-Risk Asian Population: A 2-Year Experience in a Single InstitutionA novel retrograde-viewing auxiliary imaging device (Third Eye Retroscope) improves the detection of simulated polyps in anatomic models of the colonHow to Avoid Pitfalls in Imaging. Causes and Solutions to Overcome False Negatives and False Positives 18 January 2005Volume 142, Issue 2Page: 154-155KeywordsAnxietyColonoscopyGastroenterology and hepatologyPositive predictive valueRadiation exposureSpecificity ePublished: 18 January 2005 Issue Published: 18 January 2005 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2005 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...