Comparison of virtual colonoscopy and colonoscopy in diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia

The diagnostic value of virtual colonoscopy versus colonoscopy was compared in detection of colorectal neoplasia. Virtual colonoscopy was performed on 29 patients with suspected colorectal diseases, Results were compared with colonoscopy for each case. Virtual colonoscopy was successfully performed on each patient. All patients tolerated virtual colonoscopy well, had no complications. All colorectal malignance were identified both by virtual colonoscopy and colonoscopy. Twenty-five polyps were detected with colonoscopy, whereas only 16 polyps were defined by virtual colonoscopy. Detection rates of polyps greater than 1.0 cm, between 0.5–0.9 cm and less than 0.5 cm in size were 90%, 62.5% and 28.6% respectively. Virtual colonoscopy is fast, minimally invasive and well tolerated. This technique is a valuable clinical method in diagnosis of colorectal malignance and polyps larger than 0.5 cm in size.