Tuesday - November 03, 2009
Doctors Shocked by Hospital Radiation Overexposure
Doctors have expressed outrage and concern for the unsuspecting patients who received eight times the normal dose of radiation during a specific type of brain scan at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The overdose was discovered when a patient reported lost patches of hair following a CT scan. The error remained unchecked for 18 months, involved more than 200 people, and exacerbated existing concerns that patients nationwide are being exposed to excess radiation during medical testing.
Diagnostic imaging tests have increased Americans' average radiation exposure seven times since 1980. Increased exposure leads to increased cancer risk.
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