Chennai: Indian Radiological & Imaging Association (IRIA) has said that the understanding that Computerised Tomography scan (CT-Scan) being equal to the radiation exposure of 300-400 X-rays is wrong and outdated.
In response to AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria’s ‘CT scan causes cancer’ comments, IRIA said that modern ultra low dose CT Scanners emit radiation that is comparable to barely about 5-10 X-rays.
IRIA said that Dr Guleria’s statements could create confusion among the people as it the previous findings were unscientific.
It clarified that CT scans are highly sensitive and effective in monitoring patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
“As CT is much more sensitive in detecting lung damage than pulse oximetry, initiating steroid medication can holt lung damage and save lives,” it added.
“CT Chest is helpful to identify the disease mild, moderate or severe and helps in clinical management, also the progression of disease can be monitored by CT in deteriorating patients,” said Prof C Amarnath, president of IRIA.
Speaking to the media on 3 May, Dr Randeep Guleria said that CT scans on patients having mild Covid-19 symptoms are unnecessary and said overuse of CT scans increases exposure to radiation escalates the risk of cancer, especially among the youth.