Virtual colonoscopy

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Overview

Risks

Results

Virtual colonoscopy

Alternative Names:

Colonoscopy - virtual

What the risks are:

Radiation exposure
Nausea, vomiting, bloating, or rectal irritation caused prep medications

Special considerations:

Differences between virtual and conventional colonoscopy include:

Virtual colonoscopy uses no sedation, and patients are usually able to resume normal activities immediately after the test. Conventional colonoscopy involves sedation, and usually the loss of a work day.
If a polyp is found with virtual colonoscopy, the patient must have a conventional colonoscopy to remove the abnormality. Conventional colonoscopy allows for the immediate removal of polyps .
Both procedures can spot polyps that have reached a large, worrisome size. However, virtual colonoscopy is not as detailed as a conventional colonoscopy, and may miss polyps smaller than 10 millimeters in diameter or flat lesions.
Virtual colonoscopy is not currently recommended as a screening tool for the early detection of colon cancer. Routine screening for colon cancer involves conventional colonoscopy, as well as other tests.

References:

Virtual Colonoscopy, The Medical Letter, February 14, 2005; 1202:15

Van Dam, J. et al. CT Colonography. Gastroenterology. 2004; 127: 970-984

Lieberman, D. Colonoscopy: Good as Gold? Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141: 401-403

Pickhardt, P. et al. Location of Adenomas Missed by Optical Colonoscopy. Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141:352-359

Review Date: 3/14/2005
Reviewed By: Christian Stone, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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