What are the risks of diagnostic medical radiation?
It is both ethically and economically desirable to restrict the use of diagnostic medical radiation to only those who will benefit from it. However, patients should not refuse diagnostic tests based on an exaggerated estimation of the risks because most of these tests involve low doses of radiation. It is probable that the risks derived from studies of the atomic bomb survivors, who were exposed to high doses of radiation, overestimate the risks at low doses. No evidence of thyroid cancer, leukaemia or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been found in patients exposed to diagnostic levels of ionising radiation. For most diagnostic tests, the risks arising from the radiation exposure are too small to be observed and the benefits will almost always outweigh the risk.
Smart
R C
RC
Department of Nuclear Medicine, St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW. r.smart@unsw.edu.su
D000367:Age Factors; D006801:Humans; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011859:Radiography / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology