Skip to main content

Most CT Scans are unnecessary

Most of you know, when it comes to the US health care system, I am not a big fan. Notably, it discriminates against the less fortunate, and in many cases does not work in the best interest of the patient.

I think the following article justifies many of my concerns, pointing out a huge flaw in the for-profit, fee-for-service health care model adhered to in the US, while highlighting the importance of being your own advocate, and approaching everything you do, especially regarding your health, with a bit of skepticism.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - More than half of patients receiving abdominal CT scans, an advanced type of X-ray, got them for tests they did not need, exposing them to excess radiation that could raise the long-term risk of cancer, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
.............................

The University of Wisconsin-Madison team led by Dr. Kristie Guite studied 978 CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis done on 500 patients that were sent to the university to be interpreted. They used American College of Radiology guidelines to determine whether they were appropriate.

They found that 52.2 percent of the patients were found to have had CT scans that were unnecessary. The average excess radiation dose per patient was 11.3 millisieverts, about the equivalent of 113 chest X-rays.

RAISING CANCER RISK

Some patients got a lot more radiation than others. In one in five patients, the dose was 50 millisieverts, enough to raise some concerns about health problems, Guite said. Seven of the 500 got 100 millisieverts of radiation, a level known to raise the risk of cancer.

"At the dose seen in our study, one in 1,000 patients could get a radiation-induced cancer," Guite told the meeting.

"This could lead to up to 23,000 radiation-induced cancers per year," she said.
.............................

Dr. Louis Hinshaw of the University of Wisconsin who worked on the study said many institutions may be doing the extra studies for good measure, ..............

But he said it was possible some centers were doing the extra scans because they may get paid more for them.
...........................

and being as cynical as I am [when it comes to the US health care system] I might also add:

to help recover some of the uncompensated and under reimbursed care health care providers are forced to provide, and at the same time increasing the risk of cancer for those that have the tests, creating potential new sources of revenue in the future.

That's how free markets work!

NOTE: Some [all] of the women may also be interested in this article on Mammograms.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
After John had cancer one of his requirements was to have a CT every year to check for cancer. He had an oncologist fresh out of school tell him that it wasn't necessary to do it every year as it increased his chance of cancer and that was over 25 years ago.
12:42 PM
Marc said…
That's not surprising! 25 years ago, health care was more patient focused, and doctors were more idealistic. And despite the fact one doctor suggested it every year, he was likely doing it, based on what he thought was a sound medical decisions.

Now health care is in the hands of big business whose main focus is profits. Patient needs only come secondary.
8:14 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine.  That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021. ...
Post a Comment
Read more