Report: Radiation Risks May Warrant Cut in CT Scans

Computed tomography (CT) scans have risen rapidly in popularity since the 1970s, increasing patients’ exposure to cancer-causing radiation, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors of the report conclude “a strong case can be made that too many CT studies are being performed in the U.S.”

Although CT scans are likely “the single most important advance in diagnostic radiology” when compared with more common, conventional X-ray imaging, they involve much higher doses of radiation, the report says.

It notes that a significant amount of literature has raised doubts about the use of CT scans, or multiple CT scans, for management of blunt trauma, seizures and chronic headaches, particularly questioning its use as a primary diagnostic tool for acute appendicitis in children.

It is estimated that more than 62 million CT scans are done annually in the U.S., including at least 4 million for children.

Other problems include CT scans being used as defensive medicine and unnecessarily repeated scans due to a lack of communication. According to the report, a straw poll of pediatric radiologists suggests that up to one-third of CT studies could be replaced by alternative methods or not performed at all.