Virtual colonoscopy: a new alternative for colorectal neoplasm screening?

The authors presents 46 patients-series with virtual colonoscopy. The findings obtained through virtual colonoscopy were divided into 7 groups: 1) Single polypoid lesion (9 patients); 2) Associated polypoid lesions (11 patients); 3) Tumoral stenosis without synchronic lesion (3 patients); 4) Tumoral stenosis with synchronic lesion (6 patients); 5) Non-tumoral stenosis (4 patients); 6) Normal studies (2 patients); 7) Patients excluded due to wrong preparation (11 patients). We concluded that the virtual colonoscopy is a valid alternative in the screening of the colorectal pathology, showing some advantages when compared to the usual studies, since it is non-invasive, does not require sedation, and allows the staging of the neoplasm. (author)