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How to Avoid Pitfalls in Imaging: Causes and Solutions to Overcome False-Negatives and False-Positives

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Book cover Virtual Colonoscopy

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

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A major requisite, prior to the use of computed tomography-colonography (CTC) as a screening tool, has been to achieve an accuracy level comparative to that of conventional colonoscopy. Until now, a wide range of sensitivities has been reported (Fletcher et al. 2005), even for the largest lesions (>9 mm): Johnson et al (2003) reported a major inter-observer variability, with sensitivity ranges of only 32–73%, whereas Pockhardt et al (2003) reported excellent sensitivities of 93.8%. This wide range of reported sensitivities is one of the major reasons for gastrointestinal endoscopists not to advocate the technique as a screening tool yet (Hwang and Wong 2005; Pickhardt 2005).

In-depth analysis of the different results has shown numerous possible causes for the reported differences in accuracy, including a learning curve, influencing sensitivity (Spinzi et al. 2001), as well as specificity (Gluecker et al. 2002). This learning curve includes the whole process of CTC: patient preparation, scanning technique (including patient positioning, colon insufflation, and scanning parameters), and image manipulation and interpretation (Taylor et al. 2004).

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  1. Department of Radiology, Stedelijk Ziekenhuis, Bruggesteenweg, 90, Roeselare, 8800, Belgium

    Stefaan Gryspeerdt & Philippe Lefere

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  1. Department of Radiology, Stedelijk Ziekenhuis Roeselare, Bruggesteenweg 90, Roeselare, 8800, Belgium

    P. Lefere  & S. Gryspeerdt  & 

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Gryspeerdt, S., Lefere, P. (2010). How to Avoid Pitfalls in Imaging: Causes and Solutions to Overcome False-Negatives and False-Positives. In: Lefere, P., Gryspeerdt, S. (eds) Virtual Colonoscopy. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79886-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79886-6_10

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