Sunday, December 02, 2007

CT Scanning - The Doctor's Perspective

White Coat Rants challenges the lead authors of the recent New England Journal of Medicine article to walk in his shoes when deciding when to use a CT scan for diagnosis. He describes the "no-win" situation that ensnares physicians when fear-mongering pieces appear in our medical journals and are distributed at the speed of light to news agencies.

While risks with excessive radiation exposure are very real with CT scans (and rarely mentioned in promotional materials by the manufacturers), there are risks and benefits to every test or procedure we perform as physicians.

Kudos to White Coat Rants for keeping a sane perspective.

-Wes

h/t Kevin, MD

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