( Computed tomographic colonography (CTC)...)Virtual Colonoscopy May Be Better Than Real-time Colonoscopy ,Health

Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) depicts cancers and other clinically important conditions that would be missed // with standard colonoscopy and at very little additional cost, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology.

"The chance of finding cancer outside the colon may be as significant as the chance of finding cancer inside the colon," said Judy Yee, M.D., Chief of Radiology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and associate professor and Vice Chair of Radiology at University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. CTC, also known as virtual colonoscopy, is a non-invasive screening method for colon cancer.

Virtual colonoscopy uses a series of CT images to visually reconstruct the interior of the colon on a computer. Unlike standard colonoscopy--which explores only the interior of the colon, virtual colonoscopy depicts the surrounding areas as well. "Using the same amount of radiation as a non-contrast CT scan of the abdomen/pelvis, you can do a virtual colonoscopy and screen the surrounding abdominal and pelvic area," Dr. Yee said.

To evaluate the prevalence of extra-colonic findings at virtual colonoscopy and to determine the cost of follow-up testing, Dr. Yee and colleagues performed CTC on 500 men, including 194 (39 percent) considered average risk and 306 (61 percent) at high risk for colon cancer. The mean age of the men was 62.5.

Of the 500 patients in the study, 315 (63 percent) had extra-colonic findings. Forty-five (9 percent) patients had clinically important extra-colonic findings. Findings deemed clinically important included large aneurysms, suspicious lesions and masses in the solid organs of the abdomen, lymphadenopathy, pulmonary nodules and gallbladder wall thickening. The mean additional cost per CTC exam to work up the important findings was $28.12.

"The fact that the additional cost was so low indicates that this procedure is potentially cost effective,
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Stanford Medical Center Implements The First Virtual Cardiac Ultrasound
2. Virtual Reality For Treating Stress Disorders
3. Hip Replacement Can Now Be Performed On Virtual Patients
4. Virtual Reality Simulation Could Help In Training Surgeons
5. New Studies Show The Efficacies Of Virtual Realities Vis-à-vis Pai
6. Virtual Meeting Place Unites Patients with Brain Tumors and Neurosurgical Disorders
7. Virtual Colonoscopy in Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Screening
8. The Tech Savvy Patient Knocks on the Doors of Telemedicine and Virtual Clinics
9. Virtual Colonoscopy is Most-effective for Screening Colon Cancer
10. Colonoscopy Could Also Identify Heart Attack Risk
11. Colonoscopy may be better to detect colon cancer in women