More than half of patients undergoing medical scans, particularly X-rays, are unaware of possible radiation risks and seldom receive such information even as they are being prepared for such scans, a survey found.
Despite the huge numbers of medical scans performed annually in the United States, the majority of patients receive little or no explanation of what such tests actually entail, researchers conducting the survey say.
"We did this study seeking to gain insights into just how well patients understood their own tests that they were about to undergo," study lead author Dr. Andrew Rosenkrantz, a professor of radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, told Reuters Health.
This should be addressed because it has been demonstrated that when patients are given more information on scans and can share in the decision-making process of whether or not to have them, they suffer less anxiety and are more satisfied with their treatment, the researchers say in their published study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
In the study, 176 patients scheduled to receive medical imaging scans were surveyed on their knowledge of their upcoming procedures, what exactly the tests were being conducted for and whether the test was explained to them or if they continued to have questions that were not answered.
The scans the participants would be undergoing included CT and nuclear medicine scans — which involve radiation — and ultrasound and MRI exams, which do not.
Less than half the participants were aware of whether they test they would be subjected to involved radiation, the researchers found.
Additionally, while around three-quarters said the exams had been explained to them in advance, one in five said they still had questions that weren't answered in the lead-up to the test.
Other medical experts said it was important for patients to be made more aware of the risks of medical scans, particularly those involving radiation.
"It is concerning that there is a big group of patients that seem to not have the awareness of radiation exposure that they are or are not experiencing with this imaging," says Dr. Michael Zwank, a physician at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul, Minn., who was not part of the survey study.
Rosenkrantz said he agrees.
"Patients should also feel comfortable asking about logistics of the exam, ranging from what exam is being performed, which body part is being evaluated, the reason for the exam," he said.
Although the benefits of medical scans, for the most part, outweigh the risks, exposure to radiation can heighten a person's risk of developing cancer later in life, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
