Dear AuntMinnie Insider,
Several studies have looked at extracolonic findings, from Dr. Amy Hara et al, who at the turn of the century reported serious pathology in 11% of their virtual colonoscopy cohort (Radiology, May 2000, Vol. 215:2, pp. 353-357), to Dr. James Kimberly et al at Wake Forest, who this fall tallied an additional $231 per patient for follow-up and warned that costs may be higher than previously reported, at least in above-average-risk subjects.
But until now, no study we're aware of has examined so many screening subjects and their medical bills as carefully as the team from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison. At the RSNA meeting two weeks ago, Dr. Meghan Hanson presented an exhaustive study of 2,195 average-risk screening subjects who underwent VC and sometimes optical colonoscopy at the facility, where screening VC is covered by a number of local carriers.
The good news is that the incidence of serious pathology was low among the group's mostly healthy subjects. But there was certainly disease that needed finding, and driven by a few major surgeries, follow-up care wasn't cheap. You'll find the details in our Insider Exclusive, published for Insider subscribers before it's posted for the hoi polloi.
We also report on a few RSNA highlights. From the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Dr. C. Daniel Johnson and his team found that electronic stool subtraction helped radiologists find more polyps in prepless VC. Another Mayo study found that a novel viewing application called virtual dissection speeded interpretation times without hindering sensitivity. At the computer-aided detection sessions, Dr. Patrick Rogalla et al from Berlin dared to compare three prerelease VC CAD systems.
Also of note in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community, Dr. Abraham Dachman and colleagues at the University of Chicago have come up with a simple but effective deflation maneuver that may spare patients the worst of the discomfort that comes from colonic insufflation. For more virtual colonoscopy news, simply scroll down through the stories below.
Happy holidays from your friends at AuntMinnie.com!
