Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Understanding Radiation Risks: Informational Handout For Parents Of Children Undergoing CT Exams

Simply giving parents informational handouts can improve their understanding of the potential increased risk of cancer related to pediatric CT, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from The Children's Hospital in Denver, CO and Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.

"Like many radiology departments around the country, we are concerned about the increasing radiation exposure to children caused by increased usage of CT. When we looked into it, our emergency physicians told us that parents' expectations may play a role," said David B. Larson, MD, lead author of the study. "The emergency room clinicians tell us anecdotally that a number of parents expect that their child will undergo CT even before the child is seen by a physician. Parents rarely seem to understand the associated risks, so we thought it might be helpful to our emergency room colleagues to provide a handout to parents to explain, in basic terms, the risks associated with CT," said Dr. Larson.

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