Low-osmolar Contrast Tagging in Minimal Cathartic CT Colonography

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States when both sexes are combined. Given that the time interval between the appearance of a pre-malignant adenoma and its progression to invasive carcinoma is approximately 5.5 years for polyps >10 mm and 10-15 years for smaller polyps, colorectal cancer is an ideal disease for screening because there is sufficient time to detect and remove pre-malignant adenomas. However, even though screening has been shown to decrease colorectal cancer mortality, only about 60% of people over the age of 50 have had the recommended screening tests.

First introduced in 1994, computed tomography colonography (CTC) is a validated colorectal cancer screening exam by the American Cancer Society. It is a low-radiation dose CT scan of the colon that is performed after bowel preparation and gas insufflation of the colon. CTC has several advantages over optical colonoscopy including less invasiveness, no need for sedation, improved patient comfort, and the ability to identify extracolonic findings. The performance of CTC for polyp detection compares favorably to that of optical colonoscopy and CTC is rapidly gaining acceptance as a screening and diagnostic technique.

For accurate diagnosis in CTC, the colon must be adequately cleansed and any residual stool and fluid must be tagged so that they do not obscure polyps or masses. Patients often find bowel preparation to be the most onerous part of the screening process because it is inconvenient and uncomfortable. Many bowel preparations for CTC and optical colonoscopy require ingestion of large volumes of laxative solutions that can lead to nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Additionally, for CTC, currently the most widely used tagging agents are hyperosmolar iodinated and barium based agents such as diatrizoate meglumine and diatrizoate sodium solution (Gastrografin; Bracco Diagnostics, Monroe Township, NJ), a hyperosmolar ionic iodinated contrast agent. These hyperosmolar agents can also lead to nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and can even result in dangerous electrolyte balances from rapid fluid shifts. Changing the current bowel preparation regimen to improve patient comfort, convenience, and safety would most likely increase patient compliance with CTC.

Iohexol (Omnipaque; GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) is a low-osmolar non-ionic iodinated contrast agent that is approved by the FDA for oral use. It is routinely used orally for CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis, and has been used experimentally in CTC. Iohexol is better tolerated by patients and has a better safety profile than hyperosmolar iodinated and barium based contrast agents.

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