| ■ CT Scans Pose Growing Health Threat: Experts | 2010.06.25 |
| CT scans pose a growing threat to public health, and tighter rules for the imaging tests are needed to improve their safety, experts write in articles published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. CT scans use far more radiation than ordinary X-rays, and potential threats include radiation overdoses and long-term cancer risks. Each year in the United States, about 10 percent of the population undergoes a CT scan, and the use of this type of imaging test is growing by more than 10 percent a year, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates medical imaging equipment but can't tell doctors how to use it or what tests are appropriate. No federal standards exist for how much radiation a CT scan can use. One study found a 13-fold variation in the CT radiation dose received by patients at four California hospitals. |