title: [Virtual colonoscopy in real life--is it that good?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Colon cancer is the main cause of mortality among the gastrointestinal cancers in Israel. Early detection of the average risk population is recommended from the age of 50 to 75 years. Private departments of radiology aggressively advertise virtual colonoscopy for the early detection of colon cancer, although it is not recognised as such in any country.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected all cases in which virtual colonoscopy was followed by endoscopic colonoscopy in the same patient from four medical centers in Israel.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total discrepancy between the results of the two examinations was found in 2/3 of the patients. In some cases colon cancer was missed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results presented herein, raise many questions and "red lights" as to the use of virtual colonoscopy in its present form for screening purposes in Israel unless it is in the setting of clinical research.
authors: Gastroenterology Departments Rambam Hospital Haifa, Israel.
authors: Rami
authors: R
authors: Eliakim
authors: Nadir
authors: N
authors: Arber
authors: Aaron
authors: A
authors: Halak
authors: Eitan
authors: E
authors: Scapa
authors: Yaron
authors: Y
authors: Niv
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014584:User-Computer Interface