Virtual colonoscopy allows physicians to examine the colon and surrounding areas for polyps and other irregularities; however, the procedure only allows physicians to spot certain polyps, creating a need for additional tests if polyps are found. Traditional colonoscopies remain the gold standard test for CRC screenings since doctors are able to identify and remove polyps in one test, according to the release.
“Previous theoretical studies showed that once virtual colonoscopies became accepted as a national screen test, regular colonoscopies would be reduced by 25 percent,” Patrick Pfau, MD, associate professor and director of clinical gastroenterology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said in the release. “But since our virtual colonoscopy program began in 2004, we have seen no change. In fact, we have seen an increase in the number of traditional colonoscopies.”
In 2004, the University of Wisconsin became the first institution in the U.S. to accept third-party payor coverage for virtual colonoscopy exams. To examine the effects of the virtual colonoscopy program on rates of optical colonoscopies, researchers looked at total CRC screenings from 2003-2008 in patients aged 50-75. Over this five-year period, the total number of CRC screening exams (virtual and optical colonoscopies) increased 53 percent from 555 screenings per quarter in 2003 to 1,187 in 2008, according to the release. Virtual colonoscopies peaked at 307 exams performed in the third quarter of 2005, declining to 203 exams performed in the last quarter of 2008.
During this same time, optical colonoscopy exams increased significantly from 555 exams per quarter in 2003 to 995 exams per quarter performed in 2008. In 2009, five years after initiation of the virtual colonoscopy screening program, an average of 1,255 quarterly screening exams were performed with 86.6 percent of the patients screened with optical colonoscopies and 8.5 percent screened with virtual colonoscopies.
Read the DDW release on the impact of virtual colonoscopy and other colonoscopy topics.
