CT Scans Create Risk Of Radiation Injuries
Recently, increased attention has been paid to radiation injuries and the potentially harmful impact to children from CT scans. Last week, a Los Angeles Times article discussed the growing concern that CT scans are exposing our children to unsafe levels of radiation as the result of trips to ER rooms.
The article pointed to statistics indicating that children are undergoing far more CT scans during ER visits than 13 years before, with 90% of these exams in hospitals that don’t specialize in pediatrics and may fail to take into account special needs of children. A large number of both abdominal and head scans were performed – with CT scans of the abdomen exposing children to seven times more radiation than head scans.
Although inappropriate exposure to radiation can be physically devastating to any patient, for children the effects may be far worse with a greater potential for long lasting harm. With each CT scan, patients are exposed to radiation, which builds up in the body. For children the potential for harm is increased, depending on a child’s size, age and dose of radiation. When the medical professional performing radiation therapy acts negligently or wrongfully and the patient is harmed by the radiation – they may be guilty of medical malpractice.
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