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Virtual Colonoscopy
In conjunction with the EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND SCREENING SERVICE
MEDCOM’s first FDA-approved, state-of the-art program for virtual colonoscopy has been implemented by the Department of Radiology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As you may know, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Regular screening for colon cancer has been recommended for men and women over 50 years of age, or 40 years of age with a positive family history of colorectal cancer. However, only about 50% of the asymptomatic general population undergoes any form of screening. And out of these, only a small percentage undergo total colonic screening such as, optical colonoscopy or barium enema. Many patients perceive optical colonoscopy as invasive, risky, time-consuming or inconvenient. Virtual colonoscopy was developed in order to address some of these concerns.
Virtual colonoscopy is a screening program for early detection of colorectal polyps in asymptomatic adults. It is a minimally invasive procedure, which uses the computed tomography scanner to image the colon after it is filled with a moderate amount of carbon dioxide. The whole procedure takes about 15 minutes and no sedation is required. A specialized computer workstation is used to evaluate the entire colon with 2-D and 3-D computerized reconstructions. A recent clinical trial conducted at WRAMC, NNMC and NMCSD concluded that Virtual Colonoscopy was as sensitive and specific as optical colonoscopy for detection of significant colonic polyps greater than or equal to 6mm in diameter. This study was published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003. (To view abstract, please click on “NEJM Study, 2003” on your left).
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