|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Answer to Question #2874 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"Category: Medical and Dental Patient Issues — Diagnostic X Ray and CT The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field: Q
I am a recovered sufferer of panic disorder. During the 2002-2003 time frame, I became obsessed with "undiagnosed" symptoms that later were determined to be the result of anxiety/panic attacks. The good news is that I am much better now thanks to getting help from the right medical professional and that there was nothing truly organically wrong with me despite all my symptoms. Here comes the bad news—these symptoms had me in and out of different emergency rooms about every other month and now I am looking back at the amount of testing and radiation and am very concerned about the long-term effects and risk of cancer. For the year 2002-2003, I estimate that I had seven lung CT scans, three V/Q scans, four head CT scans, one abdominal CT scan, and approximately 20 chest x rays.
A
Since you do not have information on the exact equipment used and do not have physicist’s reports of measured radiation output, I have compiled radiation dose estimates from published information. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a Web site regarding CT scans about whole-body scanning, risk, etc. Although whole-body scanning does not apply to you, the section "Radiation Dose" has some excellent information regarding radiation risks. This Web page also shows a table that is adapted from the European Commission publication "Radiation Protection 118 – Referral Guidelines for Imaging." In this reference a table on page 20 provides a list of "Typical Effective Dose in mSv" for different diagnostic procedures, which is used in the table below. For the list of procedures that you provided, dose estimates can be made.
The FDA site listed above gives a typical risk of fatal cancer based on one millisievert (mSv) of effective dose (ED). Specifically, the FDA Web site states that for a 10 mSv CT scan, the increase in risk of a fatal cancer is 1/2,000. Since your estimated radiation dose is about 8 times that, the increase is approximately 8/2,000. Keep in mind that the numbers above were taken during the 1990s and are for reference only. The radiation doses that you received could be on the order of a factor of 2-3 higher or lower, depending on the equipment used and the settings (technique factors) of the equipment at the time of the exam. The numbers above, however, give you a ballpark estimate of what you are asking for. Ken "Duke" Lovins, CHP Editor's Note: The normal incidence of cancer in the United States is approximately 25%. For a population of 2,000 individuals, 500 would be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their life.
Answer posted on 2 October 2003. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ask a Question • Search ATE & ATE Categories • If you have Web-related problems, contact our Webmaster. If you are lost, see our site map. This page last updated 02 July 2008. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
