New VC research on cost-effectiveness, minimal prep regimens

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

Interest in virtual colonoscopy (VC) is growing, and this week we feature some of the latest research on the technique in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community.

In our first story, staff writer Eric Barnes reports on a recent study that compared the cost-effectiveness of VC screening to that of optical colonoscopy (OC), the gold standard for colon imaging. A research team that included VC luminaries Dr. Perry Pickhardt and Dr. Andrea Laghi took a close look at the costs involved in performing each technique relative to the number of lives saved.

They found that optical colonoscopy is still the most cost-effective technique when it comes to colorectal cancer screening. But VC has an edge overall thanks to its ability to detect incidental findings. Learn more by clicking here.

While virtual colonoscopy is less invasive than OC, VC patients still have to go through vigorous bowel preparation to cleanse the colon. Fecal tagging is one possible solution that enables patients to undergo VC without extensive purging of the bowel, but how good are the images?

Dr. Michael Macari of New York University addresses this question in a new article we're highlighting. While VC with a minimal bowel-prep regimen performed well in most circumstances, some types of polyps still weren't visualized well. Find out which ones by clicking here.

Finally, contributing writer Rob Skelding reports on European researchers who have been trying to find a balance between image quality and patient acceptance by relying on fecal tagging rather than cathartic cleansing. Find out more on that story by clicking here.

You'll find these stories and more in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community, at vc.auntminnie.com.