Study: Patients Prefer Virtual Colonoscopy for Screening

Patients who have had both a colonoscopy and a so-called "virtual colonoscopy" overwhelmingly said they would choose the virtual colonoscopy for a future screening for colorectal cancer, according to a report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Unlike a colonoscopy, where a small video camera attached to several feet of tubing is inserted up the rectum, a virtual colonoscopy is performed using a CT scanner and computer that generates a three-dimensional look inside the colon.

In a study performed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, 120 patients at risk for colorectal polyps were given a CT colonography followed by colonoscopy on the same day.

They then were surveyed two or three days later regarding pain/discomfort, embarrassment, difficulty, overall assessment, preference for future testing, and bowel preparation.

"For both CT colonography and colonoscopy, patients’ appraisals after the procedure were significantly more positive than prior expectations," the researchers reported. "Overall appraisals of the tests were favorable and similar between CT and colonoscopy: patients mainly expressed 'not unpleasant'to 'a little unpleasant.'"

But when asked which they would choose for future testing, 58 percent preferred the virtual colonoscopy and only 14 percent preferred colonoscopy, the researchers reported. They said 28 percent said they had had no preference.

Other Sources: American Journal of Gastroenterology