Rise in radiation exposure leads to warning

Advances in radiology have radically transformed medical practice, with CT scans and nuclear medicine exams providing physicians with the ability to quickly pinpoint internal bleeding, diagnose kidney stones or confirm appendicitis, assess thyroid function and identify and open blockages in the blood vessels to the heart.

The downside is that Americans are being exposed to record amounts of ionizing radiation, the most energetic and potentially hazardous form of radiation.

According to a new study, the per-capita dose of ionizing radiation from clinical imaging exams in the United States increased almost 600 percent from 1980 to 2006. In the past, natural background radiation was the leading source of human exposure; that has been displaced by diagnostic imaging procedures, the authors said.

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Best Way To See Damage In Knee Osteoarthritis Is To Measure Joint Space Width In Semi-Flexed Knee

Taking x-rays of the semi-flexed knee is the most accurate way of evaluating structural damage in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) according to results presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain.

In knee OA, there are several radiographic views from which structural damage can be identified and several tools from which damage to the knee can be assessed. Radiographic measurements and associated data were gathered from 1,759 radiographs of fully extended (EV) and semi-flexed (SF) knees and analysed using semi-quantitative scores: the Kellgren Lawrence (KL) scale, and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) joint space width (JSW) scale. They were also assessed using precise measurement of JSW in millimeters.

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Radiological Test Saves Time And Lives In Trauma Centers - Medical University Of South Carolina

Time is of the essence in evaluating acutely injured patients. This is especially true in the diagnosis of aortic injuries, said Scott Steenburg, M.D., a radiology resident at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is the lead author of a study investigating a radiological test used to detect acute coronary trauma that saves valuable time and lives in trauma centers.

The contrast-enhanced 64-multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) that reveals acute trauma to the aorta does not need confirmation from invasive catheter angiography, according to findings from the new MUSC study.

"Coming up with a definitive diagnosis of aortic injury takes only minutes with 64-MDCT without the need for mobilizing an angiography team. This allows the trauma and cardiothoracic surgeons to begin treatment almost immediately. For the patient, this means saving precious time as morbidity and mortality increase dramatically for untreated aortic injuries, even with only a few hours of delay," Steenburg said.

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