[ RadSafe ] CT scans dangerous?

[בריקנר דב]

The message of the paper is not "Stop the cameras". It means to provide the pediatritions a tool to assess the risk against the benefit at time of decision. They calaulated the lifetime excess risk to die (from cancer)from about 18000 CT examinations performed on children each year in Israel. The calculation were done with existing models (I think they used BEIR V coefficients, standartised  to the children population). They estimated the risk of 0.29% corresponding to 9.5 excess mortality cases. Personally I think that I, and every other physician, can live with this estimation.

Dov Brickner        MD
Beer Sheva    ISRAEL


-----Original Message-----
From: John Jacobus [mailto:crispy_bird at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 4:59 AM
To: ???÷?? ??; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] CT scans dangerous?

Dr. Brickner,
Does that cited paper have any evidence of mortality
due to CT scans?  How do the projected risks compare
to the immediate benefits derived from the CT scans?


--- áøé÷ðø ãá <brickner at smile.net.il> wrote:

> I am not sure that ALARA does not apply to medical
> exposures. It is true
> that justification considerations are limited (and
> the decision to perform a
> CT exam is made on medical basis), but justification
> should be applied in
> certain situations like a pregnant woman or repeated
> exams in children
> ("complex situations" as they are called in ICRP
> 60). Optimiztion should be
> applied at the level of the imaging department or
> institution  (see ICRP 60
> 179-184).
> The subject was discussed in Israel lately : Chodick
> G et al. Excess
> lifetime cancer mortality risk attributable to
> radiation exposure from
> pediatric computed tomography examinations . Israel
> Med Assn J 2007 ;
> 9:579-82 (paper written in English if anybody is
> interested I can try to get
> a pdf copy) .
> Dov Brickner        MD
> Beer Sheva    ISRAEL
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf
> Of John Jacobus
> Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 4:09 AM
> To: radsafe at radlab.nl
> Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] CT scans dangerous?
> 
> Ward,
> ALARA does not and should not apply to medical
> exposures. ALARA principles are used to reduce the
> risk of harmful effects associated with radiation
> exposures.  In medicine, the patient is frequently
> already at risk from harm due to disease or injury. 
> Radiation, surgery, prescribed drugs, etc., all have
> the potential to improve the patents' health and
> quality of life.  
> 
> While physicians are probably not trained in the
> risks
> of radiation exposure, drug interactions, etc. they
> assume total responsibility for the patient under
> their care.  
> 
> 
> --- "Brunkow, Ward" <ward.brunkow at wipp.ws> wrote:
> 
> >

+++++++++++++++++++
"If you guard your toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, you'll probably lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds."
- Former national security advised McGeorge Bundy
-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
e-mail:  crispy_bird at yahoo.com

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