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Patients do not understand the cancer risks of CT scan radiation

patients in general have a poor understanding of CT scan radiation exposure and underestimate the possible effects of their previous CT scan experiences.

Patients Underestimate Radiation Risk from CT Scans: Study – AboutLawsuits.com, 20 Dec 10, Only about 25% of patients understand the true risks of radiation when undergoing computed tomographic imaging (CT scans), according to the findings of a new study on the public’s perceptions of radiation risk and exposure. Three-quarters of all patients underestimate the amount of CT scan radiation their bodies receive, researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey found. Only 3% know that the scans increase the lifetime risk of cancer, according to the new research, which was published online on December 10 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

More than 1,100 patients were asked by researchers whether they knew that two to three abdominal CT scans give the same radiation exposure as that received by survivors of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II. Only about 13% agreed with the factual statement.

The researchers said patients in general have a poor understanding of CT scan radiation exposure and underestimate the possible effects of their previous CT scan experiences.

The study comes a little more than a month after the FDA recommended that the radiation therapy industry make changes to equipment and training to lessen the risk of radiation overdose for patients………

Patients Underestimate Radiation Risk from CT Scans: Study – AboutLawsuits.com

December 21, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA