A Pilot Study on Less-Stressful Bowel Preparation for Virtual Colonoscopy Screening with Follow-up Biopsy by Optical Colonoscopy

Objective: To investigate a less stressful bowel preparation for polyp screening by virtual colonoscopy (VC) withfollow-up biopsy on the positive findings by optical colonoscopy (OC). Materials and Methods: Fifty-eight volunteers of age older than 40 -- receiving low-residue diet and laxatives of magnesium citrate, bisacodyl tablets and suppository -- were divided into three groups. In Group 1, 16 volunteers took three 40cc oral doses of MD-Gastroview with the three meals respectively, the day prior to VC procedure. In Group 11, 18 volunteers ingested barium sulfate suspension (2 % w/v, 250 cc/dose) at bedtime and in the next day morning of VC. In Group 111, 24 volunteers received 60 cc of MD-Gastroview at bedtime and in the next day morning of VC. Following colon inflation with CO2, computer tomography (CT) abdominal images were acquired by a standard single-slice detector-band VC protocol, i.e., 5 mm collimation, 1 mm reconstruction, 1.5-2.0:1.0 pitch, 120 kVp and 100-150 mA. The CT density of the tagged residual fluid was measured. An image segmentation algorithm was applied to remove electronically the residue fluid. Results: The average fluid density was 97 HU for Group 1, 221 HU for Group 112, and 599 HU for Group Ill. These three groups' density means are significantly different (p < 0.001 one-way ANOVA). After the electronic cleansing, the % of cleansed fluid regions was 5.5 %, 16.5 % and 93.1 % (p < 0.0001 Chi square) for these groups respectively. Conclusion: A less-stressful bowel preparation with low residue diet and MD-Gastroview oral contrast is feasible for VC screening with follow-up biopsy on the positive findings by OC.