A retrospective evaluation of patient acceptance of computed tomography colonography ("virtual colonoscopy") in comparison with conventional colonoscopy in an average risk screening population.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate patient acceptance of computed tomography (CT) colonography compared with conventional colonoscopy by means of a self-assessed questionnaire.


METHODS
Four-hundred-and-one patients with valid address information from our patient collective were preselected. Patient acceptance was evaluated retrospectively using a self-assessed questionnaire. The patients underwent CT colonography in our institution using 4x or 16x multi-detector row (MDR) CT. Two-hundred-and-forty-six patients returned a completed questionnaire, 157 of these indicating that they had undergone both virtual and conventional colonoscopy.


RESULTS
One-hundred-and-twenty (76.4%) of the 157 patients would undergo another CT colonography if necessary, while only 14 patients would not. One-hundred-and-sixteen (73.9%) patients favored the actual examination procedure of CT colonography (P<0.0001), while only 6.4% preferred the conventional method. Preparation prior to CT colonography was experienced as more convenient than preparation prior to conventional colonoscopy (52.2% versus 14%).


CONCLUSIONS
CT colonography was preferred in terms of both preparation and the actual procedure itself.
Juchems
M S
MS
Department for Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospitals of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. markus.juchems@medizin.uni-ulm.de
Ehmann
J
J
Brambs
H J
HJ
Aschoff
A J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D023881:Colonography, Computed Tomographic; D003113:Colonoscopy; D004733:Enema; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013488:Suppositories / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D013488:Suppositories