5 ms·

Do you have an idea of some of the downsides? (Imagining cost - but also radiation?)

by czbond 6y ago

yellow_postit 6y ago
Not the poster but I imagine false positives as one specific cost to excessive monitoring unless there’s an underlying condition or history that necessitates it. One of the reasons in the US they raised the recommended age for mammograms.
Simon_says 6y ago
MRIs and ultrasounds don't involve any ionizing radiation. You may be thinking of CT scans or X-rays.
petercooper 6y ago
As a sibling response says, false positives are a big issue. Understanding risks is another issue (consider if you're told you have an aneurysm with annual risk of spontaneous rupture at 0.1% versus an operation with 10% mortality rate.. do you choose the op?) In some people, indulging anxieties around health can be problematic in itself or have mental health repercussions. Anxieties could also be aroused by benign findings. For example, I have a 7mm cyst on my left kidney. It is entirely benign and not growing but some people may find such a finding unduly alarming and seek treatment they don't need.
- bigmattystyles 6y ago
  Oh man, this is me right now! I had some minor but constant back pain and got an MRI. They found a bulging disc which had shrunk (a good thing) since the last MRI 5 years ago (when I presumably injured the disc, though there's no way to even know that for sure). I CANNOT stop worrying about it. Ever since the doctor labeled it, even though she says it's not cause for concern, I cannot stop worrying about it and imagining the worst; it bursting and leaving me in agony for the rest of my life. Fun times.... The best part, bulges are not even necessarily abnormal, I know all this and yet, cannot let it go.
  - petercooper 6y ago
    Yes, that's exactly the downside to screening, although it sounds like it was necessary in your case nonetheless :-) I hope it continues to get better! Maybe a third improvement will set your mind at rest. I went through with screening because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have similar concerns over such findings, but it's quite hard to know that for sure until something comes up, I suspect. If I had a benign, but growing, tumor somewhere in my body, it's hard to know how I'd take it, though I do tend to be pretty prosaic.
VLM 6y ago
Researchers seem nervous about the contrast dye used in the process. It would seem unwise to do a MRI with GBCA for fun or speculative purposes, on the other hand "makes 1 in a zillion people sick" is actually quite acceptable odds for something that's fatal unless treated. It seems those dyes can cross the blood-brain barrier as very few things can, which is good during the MRI process, however the body may or may not be terribly good at cleaning them out (and the process of cleaning those dyes out of the blood once they're outta yer brain is also hard on the kidneys). Also edited to add, we DO know everything there is to know about stupid tricks involving ferrous metal being attracted to giant MRI magnets with squishy humans in the way, and that risk of damage is probably higher than the GBCA risk.

Do you have an idea of some of the downsides? (Imagining cost - but also radiation?)

by czbond 6y ago

Do you have an idea of some of the downsides? (Imagining cost - but also radiation?)

Not the poster but I imagine false positives as one specific cost to excessive monitoring unless there’s an underlying condition or history that necessitates it. One of the reasons in the US they raised the recommended age for mammograms.

Simon_says 6y ago

MRIs and ultrasounds don't involve any ionizing radiation. You may be thinking of CT scans or X-rays.

petercooper 6y ago

As a sibling response says, false positives are a big issue. Understanding risks is another issue (consider if you're told you have an aneurysm with annual risk of spontaneous rupture at 0.1% versus an operation with 10% mortality rate.. do you choose the op?) In some people, indulging anxieties around health can be problematic in itself or have mental health repercussions. Anxieties could also be aroused by benign findings. For example, I have a 7mm cyst on my left kidney. It is entirely benign and not growing but some people may find such a finding unduly alarming and seek treatment they don't need.

bigmattystyles 6y ago
Oh man, this is me right now! I had some minor but constant back pain and got an MRI. They found a bulging disc which had shrunk (a good thing) since the last MRI 5 years ago (when I presumably injured the disc, though there's no way to even know that for sure). I CANNOT stop worrying about it. Ever since the doctor labeled it, even though she says it's not cause for concern, I cannot stop worrying about it and imagining the worst; it bursting and leaving me in agony for the rest of my life. Fun times.... The best part, bulges are not even necessarily abnormal, I know all this and yet, cannot let it go.
- petercooper 6y ago
  Yes, that's exactly the downside to screening, although it sounds like it was necessary in your case nonetheless :-) I hope it continues to get better! Maybe a third improvement will set your mind at rest. I went through with screening because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have similar concerns over such findings, but it's quite hard to know that for sure until something comes up, I suspect. If I had a benign, but growing, tumor somewhere in my body, it's hard to know how I'd take it, though I do tend to be pretty prosaic.

VLM 6y ago

Researchers seem nervous about the contrast dye used in the process. It would seem unwise to do a MRI with GBCA for fun or speculative purposes, on the other hand "makes 1 in a zillion people sick" is actually quite acceptable odds for something that's fatal unless treated. It seems those dyes can cross the blood-brain barrier as very few things can, which is good during the MRI process, however the body may or may not be terribly good at cleaning them out (and the process of cleaning those dyes out of the blood once they're outta yer brain is also hard on the kidneys). Also edited to add, we DO know everything there is to know about stupid tricks involving ferrous metal being attracted to giant MRI magnets with squishy humans in the way, and that risk of damage is probably higher than the GBCA risk.