Do benefits outweigh radiation risk in medical imaging?
In a retrospective analysis of nearly 700,000 non-elderly Americans who underwent at least one medical imaging procedure over a three-year period, approximately 20 percent received a moderate to very high dose of radiation, according to data in the Aug. 27 New England Journal of Medicine. Michael S. Lauer, MD, who wrote the accompanying perspective, stated that most imaging tests haven’t yet proven their benefit compared with the potential risks and costs. Reza Fazel, MD, from the division of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues identified 952,420 subjects (mean age, 36 years old; 52.4 percent women) from UnitedHealthcare claims between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007. They focused on five healthcare markets: Arizona; Dallas; Orlando, Fla.; South Florida and Wisconsin, and examined claims from hospitals, outpatient facilities and physicians’ offices. The researchers found 655,613 enrollees, or 68.8 percent, underwent at least one imaging procedure
