Fewer CT Scans Will Be Performed on Canadian Children

The first portable CT scan in Canada was first used at the Montreal Neurological Center in Montreal in 2008. The machine takes cross slice images of the body and allows the doctors to see the arteries and veins in the brain and also to see the blood flow which is important for many diseases such early detection of stroke, or bleeding from some sort of trauma. Regular size CT are enormous and very expensive, this model is not only cheaper but can be transported around the hospital instead of having to move critical patients around.

Dr. Martin Osmond, an emergency doctor, working for the Children's Hospital of Eastern, Ontario, was interviewed by Canada AM. He states that 1 in 20 children will have bleeding inside the brain due to an injury and one out of every 200 children will need neurosurgery. Yet, widespread use of a CT scan should be avoided.

Every year there are 650,000 children brought to Canadian and American emergency rooms with some sort of head trauma that requires CT scanning, due to reports of vomiting, amnesia, disorientation, or unconsciousness. A CT scan will emit radiation that is between 300 to 600 times more powerful than a regular x-ray. Research based on survivors the exposure of radiation sustained by the Atom bomb is equivalent to 1 or 2 CT scans. The survivors were found to have developed cancer in later life.

Since 1995 to 2005, the amount of CT scans performed on children has tripled. Because of the increase in use, Canada is about to implement new guidelines as to when a CT scan is really needed. Dr. Osmond has headed the research. His recommendations for use of CT scans in children will be when there are signs of: depressed or open skull fracture, a headache that becomes worse over time, disorientation which exceeds beyond two hours, a serious car collision, or a bump on the head which is large and spongy.

These new guidelines or rules known as CATCH (Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Injury) when implemented will cut down on the cost factor, but more importantly save the lives of many children in their formative years and preserve their good health for years to come.

Sources:

New Rules for Ct Scanning

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100209/ctscan_100209/20100209?hub=Health

First portable CT Scan

http://muhc.ca/newsroom/news/first-portable-ct-scan-canada-montreal-neurological-institute