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by the time you are scheduled to get a CT scan, the possible diagnosis which lead to the CT scan is almost certainly riskier than the cancer. Move along...

by Zezima 1y ago

cowfarts 1y ago
[dead]
blitzar 1y ago
The folks round these parts that transfuse the blood of young healthy people to boost their lifespan are probably having a regular CT scan too.
- sph 1y ago
  I don’t think they roam among us “plebs”
  - blitzar 1y ago
    With the advent of these modern medical breakthroughs I believe we have been rebranded from "plebs" to "blood bags".
chr1 1y ago
In most cases instead of CT scan one could do the same diagnosis with MRI scan, which is only a bit more expensive.
- ChocolateGod 1y ago
  The MRI scan takes 10x longer, uses helium (of which there isn't an infinite supply) and can't be used on people with certain implants.
ceejayoz 1y ago
No, not necessarily. CT scans are likely overused; my spouse has several chronic conditions and after receiving dozens a year for a while, we started asking if a CT was clinically indicated, or just precautionary. Mostly the response is "just in case". I wish EMRs did a better job of highlighting how many CTs someone's had recently for this sort of decision making. There've also long been problems with kids getting unnecessarily high adult doses of radiation. My dad's a peds radiologist and was heavily involved in the founding of https://www.imagegently.org/ https://www.imagegently.org/.
AyyEye 1y ago
I have a friend who went to an allergist last week for sinus issues. They did a CT scan within 5 minutes of coming into the office.
- queuebert 1y ago
  If it's any consolation, a sinus CT is tuned to have a very low radiation dose compared to typical body CT scans.
queuebert 1y ago
The "almost certainly" that you brush off is the entire point of the calculation. Is it 95% certain or 99.5% certain? The exact balance between benefit and risk in medical procedures is exactly how it is determined when to use them in the standard of care.
el_benhameen 1y ago
My kid needed an abdominal ultrasound in the ER, but the ultrasonographer had gone home for the night. They did a CT instead, despite my concerns. CT missed the problem, which festered for several more years before being discovered during our next ER visit … on an ultrasound.
miiiiiike 1y ago
Yeah, no. A doctor that I had a feeling wasn't paying too close attention to what I was saying ordered a pelvic/abdominal CT with and without contrast, ~30-40 mSv. Nothing turned up on the scans. When I went back he said "nothing's wrong" and, confused, I described my symptoms again. He just said "Oh! You need physical therapy." Two weeks of physical therapy and I was fine. At the time I was mad about the money, now I'm just thinking "what a dumb way to (maybe) get gut cancer." I was young. I thought I was scheduled for an MRI like the one I had for my sinuses. I didn't even know what a was CT at the time.
- fatnoah 1y ago
  On the other side of the coin, my always healthy dad did 6 weeks of physical therapy for hip joint pain that turned out to be cancer, which was immediately detected when they finally decided to perform a CT scan. He passed away almost exactly 1 year later at 46 years old.
  - miiiiiike 1y ago
    I don't like this coin. Sorry about your dad.
    - fatnoah 1y ago
      Thanks, and I was trying to highlight the challenges of any situation like this. I do agree with the fundamental premise that we need to get better and deciding when to scan and coming up with non(or less) destructive techniques.
      - miiiiiike 1y ago
        Yeah, I got your meaning. Very well put.
stevenwoo 1y ago
My first MRI about 30 years ago they did a precautionary CAT scan of my head because I had worked in machine shop (the place I worked had a machine shop and I used it for small personal projects), dunno if they do that anymore, but I was told ferrous bits in eyes had led to disastrous results for at least one patient.

by the time you are scheduled to get a CT scan, the possible diagnosis which lead to the CT scan is almost certainly riskier than the cancer. Move along...

by Zezima 1y ago

by the time you are scheduled to get a CT scan, the possible diagnosis which lead to the CT scan is almost certainly riskier than the cancer. Move along...

cowfarts 1y ago

[dead]

blitzar 1y ago

The folks round these parts that transfuse the blood of young healthy people to boost their lifespan are probably having a regular CT scan too.

sph 1y ago
I don’t think they roam among us “plebs”
- blitzar 1y ago
  With the advent of these modern medical breakthroughs I believe we have been rebranded from "plebs" to "blood bags".

chr1 1y ago

In most cases instead of CT scan one could do the same diagnosis with MRI scan, which is only a bit more expensive.

ChocolateGod 1y ago
The MRI scan takes 10x longer, uses helium (of which there isn't an infinite supply) and can't be used on people with certain implants.

ceejayoz 1y ago

No, not necessarily. CT scans are likely overused; my spouse has several chronic conditions and after receiving dozens a year for a while, we started asking if a CT was clinically indicated, or just precautionary. Mostly the response is "just in case". I wish EMRs did a better job of highlighting how many CTs someone's had recently for this sort of decision making. There've also long been problems with kids getting unnecessarily high adult doses of radiation. My dad's a peds radiologist and was heavily involved in the founding of https://www.imagegently.org/ https://www.imagegently.org/.

AyyEye 1y ago

I have a friend who went to an allergist last week for sinus issues. They did a CT scan within 5 minutes of coming into the office.

queuebert 1y ago
If it's any consolation, a sinus CT is tuned to have a very low radiation dose compared to typical body CT scans.

queuebert 1y ago

The "almost certainly" that you brush off is the entire point of the calculation. Is it 95% certain or 99.5% certain? The exact balance between benefit and risk in medical procedures is exactly how it is determined when to use them in the standard of care.

el_benhameen 1y ago

My kid needed an abdominal ultrasound in the ER, but the ultrasonographer had gone home for the night. They did a CT instead, despite my concerns. CT missed the problem, which festered for several more years before being discovered during our next ER visit … on an ultrasound.

miiiiiike 1y ago

Yeah, no. A doctor that I had a feeling wasn't paying too close attention to what I was saying ordered a pelvic/abdominal CT with and without contrast, ~30-40 mSv. Nothing turned up on the scans. When I went back he said "nothing's wrong" and, confused, I described my symptoms again. He just said "Oh! You need physical therapy." Two weeks of physical therapy and I was fine. At the time I was mad about the money, now I'm just thinking "what a dumb way to (maybe) get gut cancer." I was young. I thought I was scheduled for an MRI like the one I had for my sinuses. I didn't even know what a was CT at the time.

fatnoah 1y ago
On the other side of the coin, my always healthy dad did 6 weeks of physical therapy for hip joint pain that turned out to be cancer, which was immediately detected when they finally decided to perform a CT scan. He passed away almost exactly 1 year later at 46 years old.
- miiiiiike 1y ago
  I don't like this coin. Sorry about your dad.
  - fatnoah 1y ago
    Thanks, and I was trying to highlight the challenges of any situation like this. I do agree with the fundamental premise that we need to get better and deciding when to scan and coming up with non(or less) destructive techniques.
    - miiiiiike 1y ago
      Yeah, I got your meaning. Very well put.

stevenwoo 1y ago

My first MRI about 30 years ago they did a precautionary CAT scan of my head because I had worked in machine shop (the place I worked had a machine shop and I used it for small personal projects), dunno if they do that anymore, but I was told ferrous bits in eyes had led to disastrous results for at least one patient.