The ACG said that an “important reality” of CT colonography is that patients most likely will need a follow-up with a traditional colonoscopy, and that the organization has concerns about the “economic impact to the healthcare system of separate diagnostic and therapeutic exams.”

— The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), which represents gastroenterologists who conduct traditional optical colonoscopy, cautioning against exclusive use of so-called virtual colonoscopy in the face of a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing comparable detection rates for advanced neoplasia for both modalities, “Study says CT colonography, colonoscopy similar in results,” pp. 1, 7.