Antinuclear

Consider the recent evidence about the long-term effects of CAT Scan (CT) radiation in children. But, before we get there — please don’t flip out — CTs can be valuable tools, so please don’t decide that you will boycott them entirely.

That said, it’s undeniable that there’s been an explosion in the use of CTs, and that this is a concerning trend. Mounting evidence shows that CT exposure in childhood results in a small but real increased risk of cancer later in life…….

Another recent study from Australia by John Matthews and colleagues, published in BMJ, helps give us a bit more perspective. The investigators retrospectively reviewed the national health database records of more than 10.9 million Australians born between 1985 and 2005. They identified nearly 700,000 people (6 percent) who had at least one CT scan during childhood and linked these with cancer diagnoses that were established one year or more after CT exposure.

They found, after some statistical adjustment, that the group of children exposed to CT scans were 24 percent more likely to develop any cancer during the study time period and that their risk bumped up (about 16 percent or so) with each additional scan. The peril was greater for children exposed at younger ages and was linked to many different types of malignancies — including cancers of the brain, skin, blood and gut…….

What we should recognize, however, is that there is a potential health cost associated with CTs — especially in children — and that many CTs are performed in situations where there benefit does not exceed their risk and where patients do not fully understand hazards………… http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_23630123/dr-dustin-ballard-examining-trade-offs-ct-scans