Magnetic resonance colonography without bowel cleansing: A prospective cross sectional study in a screening population

Christiane A. Kuehle*, Jost Langhorst, Susanne C. Ladd, Thomas Zoepf, Michael Nuefer, Florian Grabellus, Joerg Barkhausen, Guido Gerken, Thomas C. Lauenstein

*Corresponding author for this work
60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background and aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance colonography (MRC) without bowel cleansing in a screening population and compare the results to colonoscopy as a standard of reference. Methods: 315 screening patients, older than 50 years with a normal risk profile for colorectal cancer, were included in this study. For MRC, a tagging agent (5.0% Gastrografin, 1.0% barium sulphate, 0.2% locust bean gum) was ingested with each main meal within 2 days prior to MRC. No bowel cleansing was applied. For the magnetic resonance examination, a rectal water enema was administered. Data collection was based on contrast enhanced T1 weighted images and TrueFISP images. Magnetic resonance data were analysed for image quality and the presence of colorectal lesions. Conventional colonoscopy and histopathological samples served as reference. Results: In 4% of all colonic segments, magnetic resonance image quality was insufficient because of untagged faecal material. Adenomatous polyps >5 mm were detected by means of MRC, with a sensitivity of 83.0%. Overall specificity was 90.2% (false positive findings in 19 patients). However, only 16 of 153 lesions <5 mm and 9 of 127 hyperplastic polyps could be visualised on magnetic resonance images. Conclusions: Faecal tagging MRC is applicable for screening purposes. It provides good accuracy for the detection of relevant (ie, adenomatous) colorectal lesions >5 mm in a screening population. However, refinements to optimise image quality of faecal tagging are needed.

Original languageEnglish
JournalGut
Volume56
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)1079-1085
Number of pages7
ISSN0017-5749
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.08.2007

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Magnetic resonance colonography without bowel cleansing: A prospective cross sectional study in a screening population'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this