METHODS

Data sources:

Medline (1994–2003); EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Science Citation Index, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and relevant key journals (1994 to May 2003); and reference lists of included studies.

Study selection and assessment:

full reports in any language of cohort studies that evaluated the use of CTC for the detection of colorectal polyps; used full bowel preparation, prone and supine images, helical scanners, and commercially available software; and blinded interpreters to the results of the reference standard (colonoscopy or surgical findings). Studies with <30 patients or a high proportion of patients with known abnormality were excluded. 24 studies (n = 4181) met the selection criteria. …