This week, two articles were published in medical journals about risk factors associated with performing CT’s scans on children as a diagnostic tool.
Our specialists, Dr. Emily Scattergood and Dr. Thomas Presenza, Pediatric Radiologists, wanted to share their thoughts about these studies to help you make informed decisions for your child while working with their medical providers:
“The risk of CT scans and radiation risk in children is an important discussion. It is important for parents and the healthcare providers to be aware and discuss the risks involved when the decision to order a CT scan for a child is being made.
A CT scan can be an important test to help diagnose serious conditions in children and the benefits of the test often out weigh the risks. This discussion should not scare parents from getting the test for their children when the test is medically necessary.
These articles can help parents choose hospitals and radiology facilities that image children using low dose imaging protocols, have a staff who is educated in caring for children, and a facility that follows the “Image Gently” recommendations provided by the Society of Pediatric Radiology.
Radiation risks are lowered when children are scanned in a facility that utilizes as low dose radiation as possible to obtain accurate information, avoids multiple scans, and uses alternative non radiation studies when possible such as ultrasound and MRI.
Cooper Radiology is dedicated to imaging children safely with low dose radiation techniques and using ultrasound and MRI whenever possible to avoid radiation. Two pediatric fellowship trained radiologists are on staff and work closely with the clinicians and providers in choosing the appropriate study for the patient.
Here are the articles that were recently in the news:
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2012/nci-07.htm
Learn more about Cooper’s Radiology & Outpatient Diagnostic Testing by clicking HERE.