User talk:Rsalibian

Welcome to Clinfowiki! We hope you will contribute much and well. You will probably want to read the help pages. Again, welcome and have fun! Ndgoldstein (talk) 07:02, 15 May 2014 (PDT)

INTRODUCTION

The proliferation of medial imaging over the past several decades has sparked increased interest from health care providers and the general public regarding patient radiation exposure and the associated long term radiation-related health risks. The most feared long-term complication of medial radiation exposure is the development of radiation-induced cancer. Ionizing radiation can damage DNA or produce free radicals that result in DNA injury. Cancer can result when injury to the genome is not adequately repaired by the bodies natural DNA repair mechanisms. The development of cancer related to radiation typically occurs one-two decades following exposure. The main culprits in medical imaging resulting in the greatest amount of patient radiation exposure include computed tomography (CT) scans and examinations utilizing radioactive isotopes (nuclear medicine).

Recommendations

In general, the benefit of performing a radiological examination with ionizing radiation outweighs the associated risks. This principle has recently been questioned in the light of potential overuse of medial imaging in patient care.