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Media not sufficiently covering CT scans’ radiation risk

Let’s hope the media gives this as much attention as they do with their traditionally disproportionate reporting on a given test’s benefits.

Radiation from CT scans increases the risk of cancer | KevinMD.com 29 Dec 09 The Archives of Internal Medicine recently released a study concluding that “roughly 72 million CT scans performed in the U.S. in 2007 will ultimately cause some 29,000 cases of cancer.”

That’s an attention grabber.It was found that the amount of radiation given off by CT scans can vary by a factor of ten, based on the model of the scanner itself and the hospital the test was performed in. That makes it difficult to truly estimate a patient’s exposure.

Extrapolating their model to CT-angiography, a controversial heart scan that gaining popularity, it’s estimated that “one in 270 women who [receive the study] at age 40 will develop cancer as a result of the scan, and one in 600 men.”That’s a huge number, and one that warrants discussion whenever the test is being considered. Let’s hope the media gives this as much attention as they do with their traditionally disproportionate reporting on a given test’s benefits.

Radiation from CT scans increases the risk of cancer | KevinMD.com

December 31, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive