Virtual colonoscopy aces speed-reading test

Radiologists could face a dramatic increase in workload if virtual colonoscopy becomes the modality of choice for colon cancer screening. A study presented at the May American Roentgen Ray Society meeting found that reading exams in less than five minutes with only a minor decrease in sensitivity is feasible.

Dr. Philippe Lefere and colleagues at Stedelijk Ziekenhuis in Belgium studied the accuracy of two readers examining virtual colonoscopies from 180 patients. The first reader had a five-minute limit, while the second reader took as much time as needed to complete an interpretation.

The sensitivity of reader one was 76.2% for lesions 6 to 9 mm and 100% for lesions 1 cm or larger, for an overall sensitivity of 86.1%. Reader two had sensitivities of 85.7% and 100%, for an overall sensitivity of 91.6%.