Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Full-body scams indeed
As was commented on by RangelMD and Medpundit, I only have to re-iterate it here. A study was released detailing the harms of full-body scans:. . . a 45-year-old who has annual full-body scans for 30 years would accumulate an estimated lifetime cancer mortality risk of 1.9 percent, or almost one in 50.
"The radiation dose from a full-body CT scan is comparable to the doses received by some of the atomic-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where there is clear evidence of increased cancer risk." The researchers considered the exposure only of low-dose A-bomb survivors in assessing the risk.
Considering that many who obtain these scans are healthy adults, it seems unwise to expose them to this unnecessary risk.
To further emphasize that these scans are not recommended by any expert groups, here are the current guidelines from UptoDate:
* There are no data that total body imaging improves outcomes.
* Potential harms of total body body imaging include: false-positive results leading to unnecessary tests and procedures as well as psychological distress, true-positive results leading to overdiagnosis of disease and futile therapies, and individual and societal costs.
* In the absence of additional data from well-performed controlled trials of total body imaging, we recommend that low-risk asymptomatic individuals not undergo such screening. As people self-refer for total body imaging, clinicians will be confronted with suspicious results on imaging without good data on their implications or the appropriate additional steps for diagnosis and management.
Need I say more?
Posted by Kevin |
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Comments:
Kevin,
I was thrilled to see you writing on this as far back as 2004. I recently published a book where we outlined some of the stats regarding total body ct scans. The FDA does not recommend these. No studies to date have shown that these pick up a disease at a stage that would increase life expectancy, and the amount of radiation those trying to "be healthy" are exposed to, is similar to that experienced 2.4 km from the center of the Hiroshima blast. Of course, some of my medical friends have been very angry about this. What matters first is the health of the public!
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time, Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
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I was thrilled to see you writing on this as far back as 2004. I recently published a book where we outlined some of the stats regarding total body ct scans. The FDA does not recommend these. No studies to date have shown that these pick up a disease at a stage that would increase life expectancy, and the amount of radiation those trying to "be healthy" are exposed to, is similar to that experienced 2.4 km from the center of the Hiroshima blast. Of course, some of my medical friends have been very angry about this. What matters first is the health of the public!
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time, Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
